'Novak Djokovic is an enlightened human being, I am nobody to criticize him' - Marseille director

Novak Djokovic has become the pantomime villain of the tennis world in the last few days after his poorly-timed and poorly-executed Adria Tour ended abruptly. Grigor Dimitrov tested positive for coronavirus during the event's second leg in Zadar, bringing the whole event crashing down.

It later emerged that three other players - Borna Coric, Viktor Troicki and Novak Djokovic himself - had all contracted COVID-19. Tournament director and member of Djokovic's coaching staff Goran Ivanisevic also ended up falling prey to the dreaded virus, despite having tested negative twice before.

The tour, hosted and funded by Novak Djokovic and members of his family, was controversial from the very start. There were packed crowds and full-fledged press meets with no social distancing, and the players were even seen dancing shirtless in a nightclub. Many observers had predicted - correctly - that the virus attack was inevitable.

After the debacle, the Serb and other top players have all apologized for their actions. Novak Djokovic has been the subject of relentless criticism ever since, with claims that he showed a lack of leadership, responsibility and concern.

Perhaps the most colorful of those critics was Marseille's Open 13 director Jean-Francois Caujolle, who was had said Novak Djokovic had a 'violent' interior.

"It reminds me of the parable of the Tower of Babel, where the people wanted to rise as high as the gods," Caujolle had said. "One has the impression that Djokovic thought himself above certain laws of nature...He imposes on others a form of mental pressure. He is someone who can be harmful."

Caujolle had also drawn comparisons between Djokovic and his Big 3 peers Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, implying that the other two would have had more sense in a similar situation.

"Today, he is not the tennis icon," the Frenchman had said. "If Federer or Nadal had done that, it would have had even more impact. But Federer or Nadal would not have done it."

Caujolle has now, however, taken back his controversial remarks, claiming that too much was said earlier and that he is 'nobody to comment' on the Serb.

I went too far regarding Novak Djokovic, says Jean-Francois Caujolle

Novak Djokovic at Australian Open 2020

As reported by L'Equipe, the Former French tennis player admitted that he had gone too far in his criticism of the World No. 1 and that he should have kept his emotions under control.

"That I can condemn what happened in Zadar makes sense," Caujolle said. "However, I should not have gone that far regarding Novak. I am nobody to criticize him. This is all the more true since we have a lot in common. I am also a 'fan' of readings regarding personal development. So I regret what I could say because it is confusing. You can think that I think Novak Djokovic is an enlightened human being."

Caujolle further went on to say that he still believes what happened in Zadar was wrong, but putting Novak Djokovic on trial in this way was wrong.

"Afterwards, to come back to this case, I am not trying to catch up with these words because it is clear that there was a fault in Croatia. However, this should not be the trial of the World No. 1," said the Frenchaman. "By offering a fairly harsh analysis of his personality, I went on to do so. In hindsight, I tell myself that this is not like me. That is why I wanted to make this point."