‘I’M TIRED, MY BODY IS OLD’ ADMITS ANDY AFTER VICTORY IN ANTWERP

FORMER world number one Andy Murray battled past American Frances Tiafoe in a three-hour 45-minute marathon to reach the second round of the European Open in Antwerp. Murray, above, winner of the tournament in 2019 on his comeback from hip surgery, progressed through an epic contest 7-6 (2) 6-7 (7) 7-6 (8).

It was the longest best-ofthree-set match of 2021, breaking the mark set by Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Barcelona Open final.

“I don’t think I’ve ever played a match like that,” Murray said in his on-court interview. “I think it’s the longest three-set match I’ve played by quite a distance and I’m tired right now. “Nowadays obviously my body is old now. I’ve played a lot of matches on the Tour. I don’t mind playing long matches, but that was taking it to another level.” Murray next faces second seed Diego Schwartzman for a place in the quarterfinals.

NO EXEMPTION

Novak Djokovic and other tennis stars will not be awarded special exemptions to enter Australia if they are unvaccinated or refuse to reveal their vaccination status, according to the federal immigration minister. Victoria’s sports minister recently insisted players may not be allowed to play at the Melbourne Grand Slam if they are not vaccinated - but they could be awarded an exemption to allow them to play.

The state government then introduced a vaccine mandate for authorised workers including professional sportspeople and while Tennis Australia are yet to confirm their rules regarding unvaccinated player travel, Alex Hawke reiterated that anyone entering Australia must be double vaccinated. “That’s universal, not just for tennis players,” Hawke insisted.