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Clips of Novak Djokovic playing football with Dominic Thiem, Sascha Zverev and Grigor Dimitrov ahead of the Adria Tennis Tour in Belgrade surfaced a few hours ago, and they created quite a stir. The videos, which saw the Serb ignore social distancing rules as he repeatedly huddled with his fellow players, made many question why he was putting himself in danger during a global health crisis - while also making them wonder how serious the pandemic is in Serbia.
The videos also incited Dirk Hordoff, Vice President of the German Tennis Federation, to call out Novak Djokovic for 'partying' instead of attending important ATP meetings. Hordoff made the accusations through a post on Twitter, which has now been deleted.
You partied and played soccer in Belgrade: Hordoff to Novak Djokovic
Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem took part in a friendly soccer match held at a park in Belgrade, where they represented the Adria Tour team. Clothed in white jerseys, the tennis stars took on a team that was comprised of several local players, some of whom are believed to be the Serb's friends.
Novak Djokovic had also posted a video on his Instagram stories, which showed him having a good time with a large group of people. Djokovic was seen belting out Serbian songs with an entourage that consisted of his friends (whom the Adria Tour Team faced off against in the friendly football match) and his fans in Belgrade.
That didn't sit well with Dirk Hordorff, who then proceeded to take a jibe at Novak Djokovic on Twitter.
"(You) partied and play soccer in Belgrade, but as the President of the Players Council, you had no time to attend the first zoom call meeting with 400 players." Hordorff's deleted tweet read.
Early reports had suggested Novak Djokovic was a part of the Zoom call with ATP executives, but Hordoff suggested otherwise.
Novak Djokovic sent WhatsApp message to speak out against USO 2020: Dirk Hordorff
Novak Djokovic is expected to announce the Players Council's position on the US Open 2020 arrangements by 15 June. The organizers are quite keen on hosting the event in spite of the way COVID-19 has ravaged the American subcontinent, and the Zoom call being referred to by Hordoff was held to address that very issue.
Dirk Hordorff, formerly the coach of players like Janko Tipsarevic and Vasek Pospisil, also spoke about Novak Djokovic's apparent lack of professionalism in the way he conveyed his US Open stance.
"Novak Djokovic sent Whatsapp text message to speak out against US Open!" Hordorff claimed.
The German then went on to tag Djokovic's fellow members of the Players Council in his message - Kevin Anderson and Vasek Pospisil.
It is unclear whether Hordoff will stand by these comments given how he has deleted the tweet, but it will be interesting to see if Djokovic responds in any way.
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