This archive report was first published on 22 June 2020.
On June 21, 2020, Bulgarian tennis player Grigor Dimitrov revealed that he had tested positive for coronavirus after participating in an exhibition tournament in Belgrade, Serbia, alongside world number one Novak Djokovic.
According to Dimitrov, he had tested positive for Covid-19 in Monaco before returning home to recover.
‘I want to reach out and let my fans and friends know that I tested positive back in Monaco for Covid-19,’ Dimitrov wrote on Instagram.
‘I am so sorry for any harm I might have caused. I am back home now and recovering.’
Grigor Dimitrov, 29, had taken part in the Adria Tour event in Belgrade with Djokovic, world number three Dominic Thiem, and Alexander Zverev, ranked seven.
He also played in the second leg of the Balkans tournament in Zadar on Croatia’s Adriatic coast on Saturday, but withdrew after losing to Borna Coric, complaining of feeling unwell.
Later on Sunday, the final between Djokovic and Russia’s Andrey Rublev was immediately cancelled as a precaution.
‘This is the best possible decision. We have to take care about security of all involved,’ said Goran Ivanisevic, the tournament director of the Zadar event.
‘Those who were in contact with Grigor will be tested. I tested by chance three days ago and I’m negative.’
Novak Djokovic’s brother Djordje, who is the overall tournament director, told Sportske Novosti daily paper online edition: “Novak? He took this news very hard. We undertook all the measures prescribed by the governments of Serbia and Croatia.”
Grigor Dimitrov is a former world number three who was the ATP Tour Finals champion in 2017, one of his eight career titles.
The Adria Tour, organised to fill the gap in the virus-hit tennis calendar which has been on ice since mid-March, played out to a daily crowd of 4,000 fans at Djokovic’s tennis centre on the banks of the Danube in Belgrade last week.
However, the tournament has already suffered an embarrassing setback when the planned Montenegro leg of the four-nation tournament was cancelled over coronavirus protocol rules.
