Three-time Grand Slam winner Murray isolating at home and still hopes to travel to play at Australian Open, which gets underway on February 8; Murray is a five-time finalist in Melbourne, most recently in 2016; Madison Keys out of Grand Slam after positive test
Friday 15 January 2021 12:34, UK
Former world No 1 Andy Murray has tested positive for coronavirus, but is still hoping to play at the Australian Open next month.
The 33-year-old Brit was due to travel to Australia on one of the 18 charter flights laid on by tournament organisers but is still isolating at home.
Murray, who is said to be in good health, is hoping to be able to arrive in Australia at a later date and still take part in the tournament, which begins on February 8.
The three-time Grand Slam winner is a five-time finalist at the Melbourne event, with his last appearance coming in 2019 where he was beaten in the first round by Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut before undergoing a second hip operation.
Murray and his team are working closely with tournament director Craig Tiley to try to come up with an acceptable solution, which would allow him to take part in the year's opening Grand Slam.
Tournament organisers spent several months negotiating an arrangement that was acceptable to local and national government agencies regarding the admission of more than 1,000 tennis players and associated personnel to Australia.
Players are due to begin arriving in the country within the next 24 hours, before completing a two-week period of quarantine, during which they are allowed out of their rooms to practise for five hours a day.
A statement from the Australian Open did not appear to offer Murray too much hope, saying: "Andy Murray has advised that he has tested positive to COVID-19 and is isolating at home in the UK.
"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."
Murray will be continuing his comeback this year at some point, having at one stage feared the 2019 Australian Open might be his final tournament as a professional due to ongoing hip problems.
He subsequently had successful surgery and won a tournament in Antwerp later that year.
Murray needed a wild card into the Australian Open draw as his world ranking is currently 123.
American Madison Keys said on Thursday she tested positive for the coronavirus and will miss the Australian Open
The world No 16 said she returned a positive result before she was due to travel to Australia and is now self-isolating at her home.
"I unfortunately tested positive for Covid-19 before I was supposed to fly to Australia," Keys posted on Twitter.
"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."
Keys' best performance at the Australian Open came as she reached the semi-finals in 2015. The 25-year-old's only Grand Slam final appearance came in 2017 as she finished as runner-up at the US Open.
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