Murray pulls out of Australian Open, says he’s ‘gutted’
Five-time Australian Open finalist Andy Murray withdrew from the year’s first Grand Slam tournament, saying Friday he could not figure out a workable quarantine that would allow him to compete amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The announcement comes a little more than a week after Murray, who has won three Grand Slam singles titles elsewhere, said he tested positive for COVID-19 shortly before he was due to board a charter flight to Melbourne.
“Gutted to share that I won’t be flying out to Australia to compete at the Australian Open. 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,” Murray said.
He had been awarded a wildcard entry by Tennis Australia to allow him to compete.
Im shoots 65
LA QUINTA, CALIF. » Sungjae Im shot a 7-under 65 at The American Express to take a one-stroke lead over first-round leader Brandon Hagy and four others.
Im, the 22-year-old South Korean who was the PGA Tour’s rookie of the year in 2019, had seven birdies in the bogey-free round on the Stadium Course at PGA West, highlighted by three in four holes around the turn.
Kang takes lead
LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA. » Danielle Kang continued to sail along at the LPGA Tour’s season-opening Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions, shooting a 6-under 65 to stretch her lead to two shots.
A five-time LPGA Tour winner ranked fifth in the world, Kang had a 13-under 129 total at Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Orlando. She has yet to make a bogey.
Nelly Korda, at No. 4 the topranked player in the winners-only field, was second after a 66.
NBC to shut down NBCSN
The NBC Sports Network, which is best known for its coverage of the NHL and English Premier League, will be going away at the end of the year.
NBC Sports Chairman Pete Bevacqua announced the channel’s shutdown in an internal memo to staff.
“At the conclusion of 2021, we have decided that the best strategic next step for our Sports Group and the entire Company is to wind down NBCSN completely,” Bevacqua said in the memo.
NBCSN is available in 80.1 million homes, according to Nielsen’s latest estimate, which is less than
ESPN (83.1 million) and FS1 (80.2).
Bass agrees with Marlins
MIAMI » Well-traveled righthander Anthony Bass agreed to terms on a deal with the Miami Marlins and is expected to compete for a role as their closer.
Bass led the Blue Jays with seven saves last season, when he went 2-3 with a 3.51 ERA in 26 games.
Source: Zimmerman, Nats agree
WASHINGTON » First baseman Ryan Zimmerman is returning to the Nationals after sitting out the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, agreeing in principle to a $1 million, one-year contract, a person familiar with the negotiations told The Associated Press on Friday.
Zimmerman hit .257 with six homers and 27 RBIs in 171 at-bats in 2019.