Dominic Thiem triumphs at Austrian Pro Series, continues traveling all over the place

Dominic Thiem triumphed at the Austrian Pro Series on Friday, defeating World No. 479 David Pichler 6-2 6-0 in the last match of the ev. The Austrian picked up the trophy after a successful outing during the exhibition tournament over the course of two legs, losing only once - to World No. 129 Sebastian Ofner during the first leg.

Dominic Thiem will be traveling immediately to France, in order to resume his participation in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown. That would be his fourth cross-border journey in the last week, which could be a recipe for disaster given his participation in the much talked about Adria Tour.

The exhibition tournament, hosted by World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, came to a standstill during its second leg in Zadar, Croatia after Bulgarian tennis star Grigor Dimitrov announced that he had tested positive for COVID-19. It later emerged that three other players - Viktor Troicki, Borna Coric, and Djokovic himself - were all carrying the virus too.

The tour was under fire from the very beginning, and its organizers were criticized by many across the tennis world for their complete disregard of social distancing norms. There were packed stadiums and carefree inter-mingling of players throughout, which led to the inevitable debacle.

While Djokovic received the bulk of the criticism as the host and World No. 1, Dominic Thiem's involvement has also come under scrutiny. His packed schedule and constant travel have invited concerns from many, given that he could possibly be a carrier of the virus.

The Austrian, who has since tested negative for COVID-19 multiple times, issued an apology through his social media accounts for being reckless and not taking the right amount of caution.

However, many believe that Dominic Thiem's apology and negative tests make little to no difference - especially after it was revealed on Friday that Goran Ivanisevic had contracted the virus despite testing negative multiple times earlier. If Thiem has had any false negatives in his COVID-19 tests, he could potentially be putting scores of people at risk with his constant traveling.

Dominic Thiem's packed schedule amid a global pandemic

Competitive tennis is set to return as the ATP and WTA announced their revised schedules to accommodate the summer-hardcourt season and the clay swing, including both the US Open and the Roland Garros.

Dominic Thiem has already announced that he will be arriving at Flushing Meadows to play the Cincinnati Masters as well as the US Open in August. However, the World No. 3 has certainly kept himself busy playing exhibitions all over Europe, even amid the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The Austrian started in May with the Austrian Pro Series before going to Serbia for the Adria Tour, after which he took part in Patrick Mouratogolou's innovative Ultimate Tennis Showdown.

Dominic Thiem is then set to host his own invitational tournament in Kitzbuhel, Austria, called 'Thiem's 7', before traveling to Berlin to playing on grass in yet another exhibition tournament.

However, the heat is on Dominic Thiem in the press as well as among fans after the Adria Tour debacle, as many have asked the Austrian ace to self-isolate. There is a very real danger of further spread of COVID-19 among tennis players ahead of the return of the season, especially after the revelation of Ivanisevic's positive result.

Thiem is yet to announce any break or disturbance in his schedule as he heads to Marseille for the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, and time will tell whether there will be extensive repercussions of his actions or not.