Andy Murray announces his withdrawal from Australian open

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Melbourne, Australia
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Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray has officially announced that he won’t be participating in the 2021 Australian Open. Murray, who currently ranks No. 123 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, was granted a wildcard to play in the tournament’s main draw but he tested positive for Covid-19 last week shortly before he was due to fly to Melbourne.

The 33-year-old Scot was asymptomatic and was looking forward to competing in the event, but later disagreed upon a “workable quarantine” after having extensive talks with Tennis Australia. Murray had already been quarantining in the U.K. and would have faced another 14-day quarantine upon his arrival in Melbourne.

“Gutted to share that I won’t be flying out to Australia to compete at the Australian Open,” Murray quoted in a statement. “We’ve been in constant dialogue with Tennis Australia to try and find a solution which would allow some form of workable quarantine, but we couldn’t make it work. I want to thank everyone there for their efforts, I’m devastated not to be playing out in Australia. It’s a country and tournament that I love.”

If he made an appearance this year, It would have been Murray’s first appearance at the Australian Open since 2019, when he lost in the first round to Roberto Bautista Agut and received an emotional premature farewell tribute. After he returned from hip surgery in 2019, Murray won the European Open in Antwerp in October 2019 but has been struggling to remain fit in recent months. He ended the 2020 season in October after he had a pelvic injury but is now ready to get back to action once again.

Publish : 2021-01-23 09:50:00

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