Novak Djokovic must have had enough of his confinement in Marbella when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out. Although he lived those days in a spacious house he owned in the Malaga town, it was found that he really wanted to take a racket again and he did it even before he was allowed in the Puente Romano Club, who apologized for having authorized the pass from Serbian for an erroneous interpretation of the rules. Already with the law on his part, Nole trained there until he decided to leave for his country when the authorities allowed him to, after organizing the Adria Tour from Spain, the tour that started this Saturday in Belgrade in striking conditions: with the public, very few masks, no social distance and hugs, many hugs.
Djokovic, who had already been very happy and smiling at the presentation on Friday along with his compatriot Jelena Jankovic, debuted on a sunny and summer afternoon against another Serb, Viktor Troicki, who swept in 37 minutes by a double 4-1. Nole gave a recital, had a great time and scorched his rival. At the end of the friendly duel, he gave her a big hug. One of the ball boys, a boy of about 12, participated in the game and clashed hands with the players after playing and winning a point with a crossed drive to number one in the world, known to be a person of loving nature, and that shortly before its premiere he had been dancing to the rhythm of a well-known Uzbek pianist, Lola Astanova.
In Serbia, entry into the country without coronavirus testing or quarantine is allowed. Meetings in open spaces and public shows are authorized, without capacity limit as long as a distance of one meter is kept. But on the central court, on clay, the Novak Tennis Center clearly did not respect that rule. The organization assured that only 40% of the 4,800 stadium locations would be sold, but in the images it was appreciated that there were more than 4,000 people … and quite together. Very few masks were seen in the stands, none on the track. Neither players, nor judges, nor ball boys, nor journalists took them. Contact between participants was frequent. “I know that many people criticized us for seeing a large audience in the stands with little distance and affirm that it is very dangerous, but it is not up to me, nor to say what is good and bad for health. As I explained previously, we do everything the Serbian government and its health tell us, and hopefully soon everyone will return to normal, “Djokovic defended.
Before the match of the ranking leader and Troicki, Dimitrov, who was quite surprised when the organizer received him a few days ago at the airport with a clean hug, won 4-3 (2), 3-4 (5) and 4-1 Serbian Dusan Lajovic Dominic Thiem beat Damir Dzumhur 2-0 and retired from the Bosnian, who suffered a muscle strain in his right leg. Later, Alexander Zverev closed with the morning session with victory against the local Filip Krajinovic 0-4, 4-3 (5) and 4-3 (2). In the afternoon session, Dimitrov bumped into Milojevic (145th) of the world, Dzumhur's emergency substitute, who won 4-1 and 4-3 (4). Thiem saved three match points against Lajovic to beat him in the last tiebreaker 1-4, 4-1 and 4-3 (6). Almost at the stroke of midnight, Djokovic was surprised by one of the few tennis players against whom he has a negative record (0-1), his countryman Krajinovic, who won 2-4, 4-2 and 4-1. It so happens that Filip had won the idol of his country 10 years ago also in Belgrade and on clay, although it was because of Nole's withdrawal in the second set when he had lost the first one 6-4. Without the energy of the first match against Toricki, Djokovic gave way until he was on the ropes and fell. In the last clash of the day, Zverev easily beat Troicki (double 4-1). This Sunday from 145: 00 the last matches of the group stage will be played and the first of each will play the Belgrade final at 20:00.
Results of the first day
Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) beat Dusan Lajovic (SER) by 4-3 (2), 3-4 (5) and 4.1
Dominic Thiem (AUT) to Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 2-0 and Dzumhur withdrawal
Novak Djokovic (SER) to Viktor Troicki (SER) 4-1 and 4-1
Alexander Zverev (ALE) to Filip Krajinovic (SER) 0-4, 4-3 (5) and 4-3 (2)
Nikola Milojevic (SER) to Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 4-1 and 4-3 (4)
Dominic Thiem (AUT) to Dusan Lajovic (SER) 1-4, 4-1 and 4-3 (6)
Filip Krajinovic (SER) to Novak Djokovic (SER) 2-4, 4-2 and 4-1
Alexander Zverev (ALE) to Viktor Troicki (SER) 4-1 and 4-1
Classifications
Group A
Alexander Zverev 2-0
Novak Djokovic 1-1
Filip Krajinovic 1-1
Viktor Troicki 0-2
B Group
Dominic Thiem 2-0
Grigor Dimitrov 1-1
Nikola Milojevic 1-0
Damir Dzumhur 0-1
Dusan Lajovic 0-2
Sunday matches
From 14:00
Dusan Lajovic (SER) vs Nikola Milojevic (SER)
Filip Krajinovic (SER) vs Viktor Troicki (SER)
Novak Djokovic (SER) vs Alexander Zverev (ALE)
Dominic Thiem (AUT) vs Grigor Dimitrov (BUL)