COVID-19: Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem to headline The Adria Tour

Austria's Dominic Thiem and Serbia's Novak Djokovic shake hands after their men's singles round-robin match on day three of the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London on November 12, 2019. - Austria's Dominic Thiem beat Serbia's Novak Djokovic 6-7; 6-3; 7-6. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP)


World No.1 Novak Djokovic will headline the Adria Tour which will mark the return of men’s tennis in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.

The ATP Tour remains suspended till July 31 but Djokovic, along with other stars, have agreed to take part in the exhibition matches.

The Adria Tour, supported by the Novak Djokovic Foundation, will feature Djokovic, Austrian Dominic Thiem, Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov and Croatian pair Borna Coric and Marin Cilic.

The opening two rounds of the tournament will see matches played in Belgrade, Serbia (13-14 June) and Zadar, Croatia (20-21 June).

Each match played at the event will be best of three sets, with four games in each set.

“The excitement around live tennis’ return has been building and the coming together of the world’s best tennis talent this weekend is a chance for fans to see how the preparations of best players in the world are faring ahead of the Grand Slams in August and September,” Andrew Georgiou, President, Eurosport and Global Sports Rights & Sports Marketing Solutions, was quoted as saying in the statement.

“We are uniquely placed to amplify this moment by harnessing the scale of our channel and platform portfolio, Coupled with our deep and rich history in telling the stories from tennis that matter, means we are set to continue creating rewarding experiences for fans to enjoy.”

Match schedule for the tournament is still to be confirmed and it will be broadcast on June 13-14 and June 20-21 on Eurosport SD and Eurosport HD LIVE at 5:30 PM IST.