Britain’s former world number one Andy Murray is doubtful for next month’s Australian Open after organisers confirmed yesterday that he has tested positive for the new coronavirus. Murray, 33, was awarded a wildcard by organisers to play in the main draw of the year’s first Grand Slam in Melbourne.
“Andy Murray has advised that he has tested positive for Covid-19 and is isolating at home in the UK,” Tennis Australia said in a statement.
“Unfortunately this means he will be unable to join the official AO charter flights arriving in Australia in the coming days to go through the quarantine period with the other players. The AO fans love Andy, and we know how much he loves competing here in Melbourne and how hard he’d worked for this opportunity.”
British media reported that Murray was in good health and still hoped to compete at Melbourne Park in the hardcourt major, which has been pushed back three weeks and will start on Feb. 8 due to strict pandemic health measures in Australia.
However, even if Murray recovers soon it will be difficult for him to make it to Australia later as players and officials must arrive during a 36-hour window from yesterday and then serve a mandatory isolation of 14 days as per health protocols.
The players, who will be allowed to spend five hours outside their rooms during quarantine for training purposes and will be tested daily for the virus, will then play warm-up events at Melbourne Park from Jan. 31 before the Australian Open starts.
The first batch of players and their support staff landed in Melbourne yesterday while top players, including Novak Djokovic, Rafa Nadal and Serena Williams, arrived in Adelaide where they will isolate before playing an exhibition event.
Three-time Grand Slam champion Murray, currently ranked 123rd in the world, had pulled out of the season-opening Delray Beach Open in Florida earlier this month to reduce the risk of contracting Covid-19.
He had hip resurfacing surgery in early 2019 but made his comeback to win the Antwerp title nine months later. Murray missed most of the 2020 season due to complications with his hip and struggled for form on his return after the Covid-19 hiatus, suffering a second-round defeat in the US Open before falling in the opening round at Roland Garros.
American Keys tests positive,
to miss Australian Open
American Madison Keys said yesterday she tested positive for Covid-19 and will miss the Australian Open in Melbourne. The world number 16 said she returned a positive result before she was due to travel to Australia and is now self-isolating at her home. “I’m very disappointed to not be able to play in the coming weeks after training hard in the off-season and knowing Tennis Australia and the tours did so much to make these events happen,” the 25-year-old tweeted.
Sixteen women including two-time Australian Open and Roland Garros doubles champion Timea Babos (HUN), Australian Open 2012 quarterfinalist and former world No.1 doubles player and Roland Garros 2012 finalist Sara Errani (ITA), Wimbledon 2010 semifinalist and US Open 2020 quarter-finalist Tsvetana Pironkova (BUL) and inspiring British star Francesca Jones will make the trip down under after qualifying in Dubai.
On the men’s side qualifiers include 17-year-old ATP Newcomer of the Year Carlos Alcaraz (ESP), former world No.12 Viktor Troicki (SRB), USA’s Michael Mmoh, Elias Ymer (SWE) and Australia’s Bernard Tomic (Qld) have earned their AO main draw spots after qualifying in Doha.
Hosting Australian Open qualifying offshore – with the women in Dubai and the men in Doha - was an historic first for the tournament and an innovative solution to some of the logistical challenges presented by the pandemic.
A further six women and six men will travel to Australia as Lucky Losers and undertake 14 days of mandatory quarantine with the rest of the international players.
Andy Murray
