Around the whole Tour cancelation episode during the week there was one little issue cropping up. Novak Djokovic was seen leaving the USA before the Miami Open was officially canceled. This caused a bit of an uproar among the tennis community. Taylor Fritz though has cleared up the air surrounding the incident.
The tournament officials canceled the Miami Open on March 12.
Statement on the 2020 Miami Open. pic.twitter.com/MkOZ4kwffF
— Miami Open (@MiamiOpen) March 12, 2020
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“Novak Djokovic made a personal decision” – Taylor Fritz
Novak Djokovic had already left the country before the announcement. He even gave a statement before he left.
“My advice to the guys that are still in the United States is to return to Europe in the next 48 hours, or even sooner. I’m currently in Los Angeles but I will take a flight today or tomorrow. Honestly, I don’t know what can happen under these circumstances. And I don’t know if we can play Miami or any other event until the coronavirus pandemic ends.”
After the officials canceled the event, some felt there was a disparity in terms of getting information.
And it is absolutely correct too. It would be unequivocally wrong to be partial about such sensitive information.
So Djokovic is leaving US before any tournaments post IW are cancelled or postponed. What info am I missing? pic.twitter.com/p4sy3i6KUE
— ダニエル太郎/Taro Daniel (@tarodaniel93) March 12, 2020
You can understand the concern behind it.
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However, Taylor Fritz has shed some light on the subject in a recent interview with Tennis.com.
“Novak left before we(the player union) discussed anything because he was just, either way, not going to play the tournaments. So before we came to the decision that it as going to be canceled for six weeks, I believe he had already made a personal decision that he is out.”
Fritz went on to explain that the player council held a vote to decide on the immediate future of the ATP Tour and came to the decision to suspend it for six weeks.
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The coronavirus pandemic has forced the suspension of most sporting events across the continents. We might get some news on the topic a month from now.
It will be interesting to see if the French Open goes ahead as planned. The tournament officials have announced that they plan to do just that.
