Goran Ivanisevic named director of Djokovic’s Adria Tour in Zadar

Goran Ivanisevic (Photo: HTS/Adria Tour)

ZAGREB, 3 JUNE 2020 – Goran Ivanisevic has been named director of the Adria Tour in Zadar.  

The Adria Tour tournaments are being organised by world number one Novak Djokovic who has gathered some of the current leading players in the world. 

The first tournament will be played in Belgrade at TC Novak courts on 13 – 14 June. The following weekend, on 20 – 21 June, Visnjik in Zadar will play host to a tournament which is being co-organised by the Croatian Tennis Association. 

Goran has no doubt that the event in Zadar will be a real tennis spectacle and he hopes that the locals will be able to enjoy it from the stands.

“The tournament will be played on clay and we were ready for hardcourt, but Novak’s team still decided for clay. We are waiting for the final confirmation of the number of fans that will be allowed. A stadium for nine thousand people will be put up this week, and I hope that half of that capacity will be allowed for the crowd to see the best players in the world,” Goran told NovaTV, before adding.

“This is a world opportunity to show Zadar and Croatia in a beautiful light, as a ‘corona-free’ country and to attract tourists. Zadar has proved to be not only a basketball city but also a tennis city when it organised two Davis Cup matches incredibly. I have no doubt that this organisation will go well and that all our guests and tennis players who come from abroad be extremely pleased.”

Goran will also participate in the tournament as Djokovic’s coach. The Adria Tour was created on Djokovic’s initiative to promote sports, positive values and ‘fair play’, but also to raise funds for those who need help. 

Croatia’s best players, Marin Cilic and Borna Coric will play in Zadar, whilst some players confirmed for the Adria Tour include Dominic Thiem, Alexander Zverev, Grigor Dimitrov and Viktor Troicki.

Visnjik, Zadar (Photo: Mario Ćužić/HTS)

After Zadar, the series moves to Montenegro (27-28 June) and then finally to Banja Luka (3-4 July). 

“Novak already had the idea to organise one Tour or a couple of exhibition matches in Belgrade, Sarajevo, and Croatia. It is difficult to organise, especially with the usual schedule of tennis players. Novak asked me how Croatia could get involved, I checked with the Croatian Tennis Association, and with their help we chose Zadar,” Goran concluded.