“If Rafa was in our case, he would be entitled to a 2nd or 3rd test,” Damir Dzumhur’s coach on his pupil’s exclusion from RG

Damir Dzumhur has been excluded from the French Open 2020. The Bosnian was not allowed to be a part of the year’s last majors because of his coach Petar Popovic being tested positive for the COVID-19 earlier.

Taken aback by the cited reason behind Dzumhur’s exclusion, the coach remarked it to be a huge scandal, claiming the scenario to be different if big players like Rafael Nadal would have been in the picture.

Popovic takes a dig at Nadal

The coach stated angrily when he heard of the news. “I’m sure if it had happened to a bigger player he would have had the opportunity to prove that it’s not a fake,” he said as quoted by L’ÉQUIPE.

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Feeling emphatic for his pupil who was already and headed for Roland Garros, Popovic stated in the interview that he had heard of even three tests turning out to be quite inaccurate. Hence, post his first positive test result, he called out to the organization for not carrying out a second test. But, he was denied.

“I am 99.9% convinced that this positive is false,” said the frustrated coach. “I think if Rafa (Nadal) was in our case, he would be entitled to a second or third test to verify. So we’re really disgusted with what’s happening to us. But, it is not at all Damir who is positive. It was my test that was on the borderline between positive and negative,” the coach expressed his agony.

Popovic’s denunciation needs to be critically addressed by the management.

Postponed from its original schedule of May-June due to the ongoing pandemic, The French Open 2020 finally begins later this week from September 27 in Paris.

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