Andy Murray is “gutted” to be out of the Australian Open.
The former world No.1 announced he has failed a Covid-19 test and is unable to travel Down Under and undergo a two-week quarantine before the start on February 8.
Murray said: “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.
“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.”
Murray's camp had been in talks with Tennis Australia for the last week in a bid to see the five-time finalist appear on a wildcard.
But 72 players are serving a fortnight of hard lockdown – where they are not allowed to leave their rooms – after arriving on charter flights where there had been positive Covid tests.
If Murray had taken a commercial flight Down Under, and any passenger on board then failed a test, he would have been forced to stay in his hotel room for two weeks just before a Grand Slam tournament.
He last played an ATP Tour match last October.
The three-time Grand Slam champion feared he had played his last match at the Australian Open in 2019 before a successful second hip surgery.
Tournament organisers then played an on-court video tribute to his career after his defeat to Roberto Bautista Agut. Murray, now 33, then pulled out of the first Grand Slam last year with a nagging pelvic injury.
The double Olympic champion is understood to be now fit and well and “devastated” he will miss the event.
Murray played only seven matches in the whole of his shortened 2020 season – and won only one Grand Slam singles match in the first round at the US Open.
