Novak Djokovic's Adria Tour disaster is a lesson for all of us, says Andy Murray

Novak Djokovic's public image has taken a beating during the coronavirus-enforced break from tennis, with his views on vaccination and alternative science attracting plenty of criticism. And now, the news of tennis players Grigor Dimitrov and Borna Coric testing positive for COVID-19 has brought further embarrassment to Djokovic and his Adria Tour exhibition.

Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray has now given his thoughts on the entire fiasco too. The 33-year-old reiterated the general sentiment about Novak Djokovic's tournament, and criticized the way it has put the health of thousands of fans in peril.

Novak Djokovic should have taken correct measures: Andy Murray

Andy Murray had plenty of words for his friend and his tournament

Andy Murray is making his comeback this week in the 'Battle of Brits' at Roehampton, where Dan Evans will also be participating. During a press conference at the event the Scot admitted that there are varying degrees of restrictions in different countries, but that the inclusion of foreign players necessitates more stringent implementation of precautions.

"All countries, obviously, have different rules in place," Murray said. "But I think once you start to bring in international travel into it, and players are coming in and team members from all different parts of the world, you should make sure you're taking all the correct measures, all the precautions that you can."

Novak Djokovic had earlier in the day attracted some ire from Nick Kyrgios as well, who slammed the Serb and the organizers for having gone ahead with the Adria Tour despite the seriousness of the global pandemic.

🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️🤦🏽‍♂️ Boneheaded decision to go ahead with the ‘exhibition’ speedy recovery fellas, but that’s what happens when you disregard all protocols. This IS NOT A JOKE. https://t.co/SUdxfijkbK

— Nicholas Kyrgios (@NickKyrgios) June 22, 2020

Andy Murray was considerably less hostile though, and even expressed hope that the situation will be controlled quickly.

"Hopefully, there's nothing too bad," Murray said. "There's not a big outbreak there, because my understanding is that in Serbia and Croatia they were handling it fairly well."

Mass gatherings like at Novak Djokovic's tournament are a recipe for the virus to kick off: Andy Murray

Recent local reports after the Adria Tour was called off suggested that there was little to no social distancing at the stadium in Zadar. There were also reports about how easy it was to enter the stadium despite not having tickets, and how there were no arrangements for disinfectants at the entrances of the stadium.

Novak Djokovic with Grigor Dimitrov and Borna Coric, both of whom have since contracted COVID-19

Against that backdrop, Andy Murray noted how Novak Djokovic's exhibition was attended by scores of fans, and saw players mingling with one another at a time where social distancing should be followed.

"Once you start having mass gatherings, with people coming in from all sorts of countries, it's a recipe for it to kick off," Andy Murray said of the Adria Tour shutdown due to COVID-19.

Yesterday, Novak Djokovic had met with a chorus of criticism as he refused to get tested for the coronavirus, stating that he had no symptoms in Zadar. The Serb and his family subsequently took a test after reaching Belgrade.

Two players, one coach and one fitness trainer contracted Covid-19 at Novak Djokovic's controversial event.But Djokovic went home without even taking a test because "he did not feel any symptoms" | @simonrbriggs https://t.co/jI58lpqJLj

— Telegraph Sport (@TelegraphSport) June 22, 2020

In sharp contrast to Novak Djokovic's apparent lack of diligence, Andy Murray highlighted the importance of taking the situation seriously. He also pointed out how the rest of the organizers need to implement even more safety precautions if they want to host any more tennis tournaments.

"It's a kind of a lesson for all of us to take, if we weren't already. We need to take this (pandemic) extremely seriously, and we need to have as many safety measures in place as possible," Andy Murray said.

Besides the lack of social distancing and safety measures, the participants at the Adria Tour didn't even wear masks as they made physical contact with each other. Now that the situation has blown up, it could well act as a cautionary tale for the ATP as they look to get competitive tennis underway in a few weeks.