'We don't expect this from our idols' - Gustavo Kuerten on Novak Djokovic's Adria Tour

Ever since the Adria Tour fiasco, the reactions from the top names in the tennis world have been relentlessly pouring in. And the latest to join the bandwagon in condemning Novak Djokovic's actions is former World Number 1 and three-time Roland Garros winner Gustavo Kuerten.

In a chat with fellow Brazilian player Flávio Canto on the chat show Vencendo Juntos, Gustavo Kuerten lashed out at Novak Djokovic and the Adria Tour event which saw four players test positive for coronavirus.

It was a total mess: Gustavo Kuerten on Novak Djokovic's Adria Tour

When asked about his reaction to the Adria Tour debacle and Novak Djokovic's role in it, Gustavo Kuerten replied that he was rather surprised by the turn of events. The Brazilian explained how Novak Djokovic is one of the senior-most players and biggest stars on tour, which makes his callousness all the more irresponsible.

That said, 'Guga' also believes Novak Djokovic has done the required self-introspection post the debacle.

"It was a surprise, because we don’t expect it from our idols," Kuerten said. "It was a total mess. It is important to separate the person from the idol, who has a big margin to make mistakes, but we have to think about the size of the error. I think he has already done the reflection exercise."

We have to learn from this error: Guga Kuerten

Gustavo Kuerten

Stressing that the Adria Tour fiasco should serve as an eye-opener for future tennis tournaments, Kuerten said that there are a lot of lessons that can be learnt from this episode.

'Lambança total', diz @gugakuerten sobre @DjokerNole https://t.co/eEprmOus9C

— Site Tenis News (@tenisnewsbrasil) July 3, 2020

Lamenting that the tennis world doesn't yet have a foolproof formula for the safe conduct of tennis tournaments, Guga said:

"We have to get the greatest possible benefits from this error for the next tournaments. Djokovic has empathy, just like Federer and Nadal. There are countries that are at a lower risk level and we have no formula ready for tennis in times of coronavirus."

It would have come as a big relief that Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena have subsequently tested negative for coronavirus. That said, the onus remains on the organizers to ensure that future tennis tournaments are conducted with high levels of safety standards keeping in mind the health of players, coaching staff and fans alike.

Kuerten rightly pointed out that a lot of lessons can be learnt from the Adria Tour event. The time has come to stop attacking Novak Djokovic, and instead shift focus to the smooth conduct of the upcoming tennis tournaments.