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The Adria Tour final in Zadar between world No. 1 Novak Djokovic and rising Russian star Andrey Rublev has been cancelled after Grigor Dimitrov tested positive for the coronavirus. Goran Ivanisevic, the coach of Djokovic and the tournament director for the Adria Tour event in Zadar, announced the news just when the players were set to enter the court for the final.
Ivanisevic said they were disappointed to end the event on this way but they didn't to risk anything further. Djokovic, a 17-time Grand Slam champion, finished his group with three straight-set wins as he beat Pedja Krstin, Borna Coric and Nino Serdarusic.
On the other side, world No. 14 Rublev played at a high level during the group stage. The Russian overcame home favorite Marin Cilic in three sets in his opener, before he saw off Danilo Petrovic and world No. 7 Alexander Zverev in two sets.
It was all set for a spectacular final but the unfortunate news led to the organizers cancelling the final. Djokovic, who failed to make it past the group stage in Belgrade, was aiming to win it all this week.
Grigor Dimitrov sat out Sunday after consulting with doctors
Dimitrov, ranked at No.
19 in the world, didn't perform well in his opener at the Adria Tour event in Zadar. The Bulgarian performed far from his best level as Croatian tennis star Coric thrashed the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals champion 4-1 4-1. After losing to Coric, Dimitrov withdrew from his Saturday evening clash against Krstin.
Former world No. 3 Dimitrov was replaced by Croatia Nino Serdarusic, who defeated Krstin in two sets. Dimitrov hoped he would get better and be able to play Djokovic in his last match group on Sunday afternoon. "Thank you all for the messages and attention I received.
I want to say that I will be fine. This is a consequence of physical effort and exposure to the sun in the past few days, and I will have to miss the last day in Zadar. I thought it would be fair to give up my place to a great young player to whom this will surely mean a lot," Dimitrov told Sport Klub.
Dimitrov was replaced once again by Serdarusic, who lost in straight sets to Djokovic. Grigor Dimitrov also played at the Adria Tour event in Belgrade.