As tennis players from around the world start flooding into Melbourne there have been three positive COVID-19 test results, before the players even boarded.

Five-time finalist Andy Murray tested positive and is isolating at home near London. He has not given up hope of making it to Australia.

Two-time Australian Open quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren also tested postive, he was however cleared to fly to Melbourne out of Los Angeles.

Sandgren had previously tested positive to COVID-19 back in November 2020.

“My two tests were less than eight weeks apart. I was sick in November, totally healthy now,” he tweeted.

COVID-19 Quarantine Victoria released a statement this afternoon saying it had reviewed Sandgren’s positive test result “as per standard processes” and he was cleared to travel to Australia.

It said the evidence in Sandgren’s case “suggested he had recovered from a previous COVID-19 infection and is still shedding viral particles”.

“For people who have previously tested positive and have since recovered, it is common to shed viral fragments for some time — which can trigger another positive result,” the statement read.

“Any person who returns a positive test result has their medical and case history reviewed by a team of public health experts.

On the women’s side Madison Keys has tested positive and withdrawn from the tournament.

“I am very disappointed not to 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,” said Keys.

“I am self-isolating at home. I look forward to being back on tour next month.”

Earlier USA’s John Isner had said he was not making the journey to Australia as he would only do so with his family by his side.

Amanda Anisimova also seems to have tested positive around six days ago.

After three rounds of qualifying for the historic 2021 edition of the Australian Open there were just three Australians with a shot at reaching the main draw.

Due to COVID-19 the qualifying was held offshore for the very first time. The men played in Doha and the women in Dubai.

Bernard Tomic took on John -Patrick Smith in an all-Australian matchup. While Dane Sweeny faced Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky.

Tomic had survived a match point in his second round match against another Australian, Tristan Schoolkate.

Against Patrick Tomic took the first set 6-4 before his fellow Queenslander too the second 7-5.

The match was then decided in a super tie-breaker with Tomic booking a main draw spot 10-7.

“He’s a dangerous player,” Tomic said of Smith. “He had nothing to lose, so today was tough.”

“I was fighting and competing for every point, but it was tough,” Tomic said. “I’d like to play a little more aggressive, but when the body is not there it is tough to play aggressive.”

Sweeny took the first set 6-2 against Stakhovsky before fading to lose the next two sets 6-3, 6,1.

Tomic will now head to Melbourne to enter the 14-day quarantine. He will be competing in his 11th singles event at the Australian Open with a 17-10 win-loss record. Tomic’s best result is a fourth-round appearance – which he achieved in 2012, 2015 and 2016.

More wildcards were awarded by Tennis Australia on 28 December.

They went to five Australians and also included former world no. 1 Andy Murray.

 India’s Sumit Nagal and China’s Wang Xiyu receive the Asia-Pacific wildcards.

Thanasi Kokkinakis (SA), Alex Bolt (SA) and Aleksandar Vukic (NSW) are among the latest Australian recipients, along with Arina Rodionova (Vic) and Destanee Aiava (Vic).

Kokkinakis is on the comeback trail, with the former world no.69 set to take part in his fifth main draw at Melbourne Park after missing the 2020 event due to glandular fever.

“I’m super happy and thankful to have gotten a wildcard into the AO,” said Kokkinakis.

“Shattered I couldn’t play this year due to illness, but I’m feeling great now and can’t wait to get out in front of the home crowd and have some fun.”

20-year-old Aiava will be competing in her fourth Australian Open however the Victorian missed out on competing at the 2020 event after bowing out in the third round of qualifying.

The Australian Open handed out some nice Christmas presents for six Australian tennis players.

On 24 December they announced that Christopher O’Connell (NSW) and Marc Polmans (Vic) have been awarded wildcards into the men’s draw, along with Daria Gavrilova (Vic), Astra Sharma (WA), Maddison Inglis (WA) and Lizette Cabrera (Qld) in the women’s draw.

There are still more wildcards to be awarded leading up to the tournament.

“While 2020 has been an incredibly challenging year, we’re proud of the strength and resilience this group of players has shown during this difficult time,” Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said today. 

“Chris, Marc, Dasha, Astra, Maddy and Lizette have all inspired us with their efforts both on and off the court, here at home and in unprecedented conditions overseas. We are excited to give them the opportunity to compete at Australian Open 2021. 

“The Grand Slams are the pinnacle of our sport and the chance to play at home is an experience we know these deserving players will cherish,” Tiley continued.

Christopher O’Connell is the world no. 120 and has a career high of no. 111. He will be competing at the Australian Open for the third time. He will be hoping for a kinder draw in 2021 after having face world no. 15 Grigor Dimitrov in 2017 and world no. 16 Andrey Rublev in 2020.

Marc Polmans will be competing in his third Australian Open singles event. In 2019 he lost in five sets to Denis Kudla after leading 2-0. In 2020 he claimed his first main draw win at a grand slam after defeating Mikhail Kukushkin in five sets after again leading 2-0.

Polmans also played at the 2020 US Open and French Open. At Roland Garros he had a good win over world no. 38 Ugo Humbert in the opening round after going through qualifying.

Polmans is currently ranked at no. 124 and has a career high ranking of no. 116.

Daria Gavrilova is currently ranked at world no. 450 as she makes a comeback from injury. She was ranked at no. 20 back in August 2017.

Gavrilova reached the R16 at the Australian Open in 2016 and 2017.

Astra Sharma will be playing in her third Aussie Open in the singles draw. She has been successful in mixed doubles, making the final in 2019 and the semis back in January of this year teaming up with John-Patrick Smith.

Sharma is currently ranked at no. 129 after reaching a career-high ranking of no. 85 back on June 24, 2019.

Maddison Inglis will be taking part in her second Australian Open after a first round loss in 2016 after she had earned a wildcard after winning the playoff tournament against Arina Rodionova in December 2015.

Inglis is currently ranked at no. 130 and has a career-high of no. 112 back in March of this year. She competed at the US Open and French Open in 2020 losing first round at both.

Lizette Cabrera is ranked at no. 140 and has been as high as no. 119 on February 3, 2020. She will be competing at her fourth Australian Open and her sixth grand slam singles tournament. She is currently at 0-5 after two first round losses at the 2018 and 2020 US Open.

After a bit of a delay due to discussions over quarantine arrangements, the Australian Open has finally been locked in for a February 8 start.

The men’s final will be played on 21 February.

Tickets are on sale now but with a 25 per cent capacity for the time being. Due to COVID-19 restrictions you will need to buy a ticket for a distinct zone within Melbourne Park.

The three zones are Rod Laver Arena Zone, Margaret Court Arena Zone and John Cain Arena (formerly Melbourne Park and HiSense Arena) Zone.

For this 2021 Australian Open the qualifying will be held overseas with the women’s event taking place in Dubai, and men’s qualifying in Doha from 10-13 January.

Overseas players will arrive in Australia from 15 January and undertake mandatory quarantine for 14 days however they will have the ability to train during this time.

Players will compete for more than $80 million in prize money during their time in Australia, with the AO total prize pool remaining at the 2020 level of $71.5 million. Players exiting in the first round of the AO will take home $100,000, up 15 per cent from 2020.

All lead up tournaments that would normally be held around Australia will be played in Melbourne.

“This will be an historic Australian Open on so many levels,” Australian Open Tournament Director Craig Tiley said.

“For the first time in more than 100 years the Australian Open will start in February and we look forward to offering the players what we believe will be one of their best playing experiences in 2021.

“From the outset, ensuring players have the best possible preparation for the Australian Open, while at all times protecting the precious COVID-free environment that the Victorian community has built through incredible sacrifice and hard work over the past six months, has been paramount.

“It has taken eight months of working alongside government authorities, here in Victoria, nationally and interstate, to give us the opportunity to present an Australian Open that will play a major role in both the economic and psychological reinvigoration and rejuvenation of Melbourne and Victoria.

“AO 2021 is going to be all about supporting local businesses – our tennis coaches, the farmers, food and wine producers, chefs, artists and musicians – and celebrating everything that is great about our country, as well as providing opportunities to those who’ve been so hard hit during the pandemic, particularly in Melbourne and Victoria,” said Tiley.

With the Victorian state government not allowing overseas players to enter the state in mid-December it has thrown the opening Grand Slam of the 2021 season into chaos.

The reasoning behind the decision is that Australians that are overseas need to be allowed back home ahead of the tennis stars.

The Australian Open was scheduled to commence on 18 January and conclude on 31 January 2021.

Now it is anyone’s guess as to when the tournament will be played. Talks between Tennis Australian and the Victorian Government are underway.

On 22 November Craig Tiley, Tennis Australia CEO released a statement where he said, “Tennis Australia is doing everything we can to finalise the summer of tennis as soon as possible.

Our intention is to deliver a summer in conditions that allow the players to prepare and perform at their best and the fans to enjoy their efforts – all in an environment that is safe for all concerned.

We are working closely with the Victorian Government on a plan that takes into account the needs of the players, fans, our partners and staff, and is of major benefit to the Victorian and Australian economies.”

Rafael Nadal was asked about the situation when he was competing at the ATP Finals in London.

“I don’t know what’s the situation going to be yet,” Nadal said. “We need to wait about what the government there in Victoria says.

“We can’t do much from ATP position or just wait. We [are] nobody to say what they feel is better for [their] country, no?

“We just need to be patient and accept the situation that we are facing. That is difficult for everyone. We need to be flexible to understand the situation and to find a way to play as many tournaments as possible next year.”

“Hopefully with the vaccine, that ends soon and we can come back at least to close to normal in a couple of months, but now is a difficult situation.”

Before the Victorian Government stepped in to say that there would be a likely delay for the start date, the lead-up tournaments were set to be held in Victoria.

In normal conditions tournaments would have been held in Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney, Hobart Perth and Canberra. It was decided to hold all events in Victoria in case a state border closure stranded players interstate.

The obvious solution is to have players enter Australia using all possible airports and have them do their quarantine across different states and territories.

What prevents this is the behaviour of the State Premiers that are willing to shutdown their borders without valid health reasons.

Just last week the South Australian Premier shutdown the entire state after a small outbreak. You could understand quarantining Adelaide but to shut down the entire state was clearly an overreaction.

Novak Djokovic has continued his domination on Rod Laver Arena. Since he won his first Australian Open title in 2008 each time he has reached the final he has walked off as champion.

Embed from Getty Images

This time Djokovic faced Dominic Thiem. The Austrian searching for his first Grand Slam title at his third attempt, Djokovic aiming for his eighth at Melbourne Park.

Embed from Getty Images

Djokovic came out firing. He broke the fifth seed in the second game for a 2-0 lead and then consolidated the break for 3-0. Thiem held for 3-1. Another hold for the Serbian second seed and it was 4-1.

Thiem who had defeated world no. 1 Rafael Nadal in the quarterfinals then started firing and he was able to break Djokovic in the seventh game to get back on serve. Thiem would then hold to level the score at 4-4.

Djokovic held easily before applying the pressure to Thiem as he jumped out to 0-30. Thiem would get to 30-30 before his third unforced error game Djokovic a set point. He was able to save that and go to game point before back-to-back unforced errors gave Djokovic a set point, this time he converted.

In the second set it was Thiem that had the early 3-1 lead and as in the first set the person in the lead would be pegged back to see the scores at 4-4.

Just when you thought Djokovic was getting on top he stumbled and Thiem levelled the match at a set all.

Djokovic was looking a bit off. He would stumble a bit at times and wasn’t sure footed. He was given warnings for taking too much time on serve and he also had the doctor provide treatment. The second time violation saw him lose a first serve and this rattled the Serb.

The defending champion pretty much gave away the third set as Thiem claimed it 6-2 to got to a two sets to one advantage.

In the fourth set Djokovic was looking his old self. His serve had improved and he was relentless from the back of the court.

Djokovic got a key break in the eighth game of the fourth set, helped by a Thiem double fault.

As the match moved into a fifth set the question was about the fatigue factor for Thiem. He had spent a lot more time on court to reach the final.

Thiem for a short period seemed to be feeling the effects of another five setter, he wasn’t pounding the ball with the same impact as earlier in the match. Just when you thought he was gone the Austrian stepped it up a level and was competing hard.

In the third game Djokovic made his move. Thiem hit four unforced errors to concede the game. Thiem looked to break back immediately however Djokovic fought off two break points to maintain his one break advantage.

That was the last break point opportunity that Thiem would see. Djokovic held on to claim his eighth Australian Open title and he also secured the no. 1 rank in men’s tennis.

“I would like to start by saying congratulations to Dominic for an amazing tournament,” said Djokovic, during the on-court ceremony. “It wasn’t meant to be tonight. Tough luck and it was a tough match, but you were very close to winning it and you definitely have a lot more time in your career and I’m sure that you will get one of the Grand Slam trophies. More than one.”

Thiem served 13 Aces to 9, double faults were 5-5. The 1st serve percentage was almost even with Djokovic serving at 64% and Thiem at 63%.

Both players won five from 12 break points. The winners were 55 for Thiem and 46 for Djokovic. Unforced errors were 57 for both players.

35-year-old Rajeev Ram from the USA and 27-year-old Joe Salisbury from Great Britain have denied Max Purcell and Luke Saville from becoming the first Australian pairing to claim an Australian Open title since 1997 when Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde lifted the winners trophy.
Embed from Getty Images

Ram and Salisbury constantly had their Australian opponents on the back foot as they were fighting off break points.

The American-British duo had eight break points in the first set before they finally converted before sealing the first set in 42 minutes.

They quickly broke in the second set and raced to a 6-4, 6-2 victory.

Purcell and Saville had only one win at this level before being awarded a wild card to compete.

The Australian’s success in doubles will help boost their singles ambitions as that is their main priority.

“It’s been great fun to share the court with a really good mate,” said Saville.

“And to win five matches at a Grand Slam, it’s amazing. It wasn’t the result we wanted today. We played well first round, to knock off the eighth seeds in the second round in an epic was amazing.

“Probably the semi [was a highlight], to come from a set down against the fourth seeds, and even our third round, on Show Court 3, on Australia Day, was a joke.

“Just the whole week. We even played pretty well in the singles. Maxie qualified, which was huge for him as well. I lost second round in a heartbreaker which was tough. But we can really build on this Aussie Open, honestly, it’s been a roller coaster, it’s been long few weeks for us, we’re gonna take a few days to digest the result. It really sets up our year, honest.”

Ram will be ranked at no. 5 and Salisbury at no. 4. Saville jumps to no. 38 and Purcell will be at no. 40.

USA’s Sofia Kenin has come from nowhere to win the 2020 Australian Open women’s singles title.

The 20-year-old defeated Spain’s former world no. 1 and two-time Grand Slam champion Garbine Muguruza. The final score was 4-6, 6-2, 6-2.

Embed from Getty Images

Unfortunately the match was ended following a Muguruza double-fault.

“My dream has officially come true. I cannot even describe this feeling,” Kenin said at the trophy presentation after the match.

“It is so emotional and I have worked so hard. I am just so grateful to be standing here. Dreams come true so if you have a dream, go for it and it will come true.”

The key moment came at 2-2 in the third set with Kenin serving at 0-40. She responded brilliantly hitting winners close to the sidelines to escape that game.

Kenin would then break the Spaniard and from there she stormed home to break again when Muguruza served a double-fault.

21-year-old Max Purcell and 26-year-old Luke Saville are the first Australian pairing to reach the Australian Open doubles final since Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde back in 1998.

Embed from Getty Images

The Woodies would lose the 1998 final in five sets to Jonas Bjorkman and Jacco Eltingh. Woodbridge would later team up with Bjorkman and win five Grand Slam doubles titles together after Woodforde retired.

Purcell and Saville had won just once before at this level when they won a first round match at the 2018 Australian Open.

The Aussies defeated the no. 4 seeds Ivan Dodig and Filip Polasek 6-7(7), 6-3, 6-4.

They had two set points in the opening set Tiebreaker but could not convert.

Purcell and Saville jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the second set and they went on to level the match at one set all after claiming the set 6-3.

The Australian pairing again broke early in the deciding set only to concede the break in the next game. The broke in the fifth game to lead 3-2 and held for 4-2.

The Croatian-Slovakian pairing would hold and then break to level the scores at 4-4 however the Australian’s hit back to break and then serve out the match to reach the final.

The majority of their time is spent playing on the ATP Challenger tour where they have won seven doubles titles together in 2019 and they started 2020 winning the Apis Canberra doubles title, also on the Challenger tour.

“It is still sinking in that’s for sure. It has been a bit of a rollercoaster the whole week, honestly. Now we’re sitting in a slam final,” Saville said after the pair booked their place in the final.

“We are thrilled. We knew our level was good, but this is definitely a bit of a surprise.

“We hadn’t too many tour level matches together and now we are sitting in a final. If we could get the title it would be enormous, but we are proud of what we have achieved so far this week.”

The Australian pair will face the no. 11 seeds of Rajeev Ram (USA) and Joe Salisbury (UK).