MURRAY IN RACE AGAINST TIME AFTER COVID STRIKES
Brit’s Aussie Open hopes in balance
Yet another chapter is set to be written in Andy Murray’s extraordinary, sometimes torturous relationship with the Australian Open.
Following his diagnosis for Covid- 19, as revealed by Sportsmail, his latest challenge is the race to try to make the line-up on February 8.
Melbourne is already a place where he has lost five finals, where his father-in-law coach Nigel Sears suffered a major health scare in 2016, and where he looked set to retire two years ago, farewell videos and all.
Having been absent last year with further hip problems, he is desperate to defy the odds again and return to the scene of so many dramas.
Yet instead of joining one of the charter flights departing from the Middle east, he is isolating at home in Surrey following a positive test at the start of this week.
According to his management, Murray is suffering only the mildest of symptoms. Now he must wait to see if health authorities will flex their two- week quarantine rules.
Murray, and probably tennis Australia, will argue that if he returns a series of negative tests 10 days from now, he cannot pose a threat to anyone en route or when he arrives.
Yet there are still big hurdles to overcome — not to mention the awkward PR optics of making exceptions, even if the tennis influx does not affect the thousands of Australians currently stranded abroad.
It remains to be seen what sort of quarantine he would have to serve, with the majority of players needing two weeks in a hotel room while being allowed out to train five hours a day.
there is hope for Murray. America’s tennys Sandgren, the world No 50, was allowed on Wednesday night’s charter flight from Los Angeles to Melbourne. He had tested positive last week, having also tested positive back in November.
Of Sandgren, tennis Australia said: ‘His medical file had to be reviewed by Victorian health authorities. Upon completion of that review he was cleared to fly.’
All decisions would be made ‘at the complete discretion of an Australian government authority’.
Murray had won both his matches at the mini Battle of the Brits event at the National tennis Centre ( NtC) before Christmas, and had been feeling confident about his prospects. Ironically, he pulled out of last week’s season-opening AtP event in Delray Beach, Florida, to minimise the chances of catching anything prior to Australia.
However, there has been a mini outbreak of the virus at Roehampton’s NtC in the past seven days, where he has been training.
At least two non- travelling players, including Paul Jubb, and a couple of coaches are known to have returned positive tests recently.
It is not believed that any of the remaining British contingent who are en route have been affected.