Bautista Agut, Goffin occupy top seeding positions at ATP 250
In his first ATP Tour event in four months, Andy Murray has landed in a packed section of the Open Sud de France draw in Montpellier.
Making his first tour-level appearance since last October’s bett1HULKS Indoors in Cologne, the former World No. 1 will open his campaign against Belarusian Egor Gerasimov. Murray will aim to build on a strong start to his 2021 season in Montpellier, following his run to the Biella Challenger Indoor 1 final last week (l. to Marchenko).
The British wild card will compete in the third quarter of the ATP 250 draw, which features the only two players competing in Montpellier to have already lifted an ATP Tour title this year. Murray could meet Great Ocean Road Open champion Jannik Sinner in the second round, with Delray Beach Open by VITACOST.com champion Hubert Hurkacz a potential quarter-final opponent.
Serving up an Australian Open like no other
The wait has come to an end and itâs now game on in Melbourne for what many assumed would be impossible.
Taylore Fritz in action at the Australian Open last year, where he reached the third round.Â
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uccessfully bringing more than 1000 people into Melbourne in the middle of a global pandemic is no small feat, but thatâs just what has been achieved as the Australian Open began serving up this past week, despite the 11th-hour COVID case of a Grand Hyatt worker.
Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley wanted to lift the mood of the nation, and Melbourne, in particular, which last year endured one of the worldâs longest lockdowns.
Tenth seed Mannarino reaches second round
Jeremy Chardy saved five match points to scrape past No. 11 seed Marin Cilic of Croatia on Monday night at the Murray River Open.
Chardy recovered from 3/6 down in the deciding set tie-break and saved two further match points at 6/7 and 7/8 in a 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(8) win over former World No. 3 Cilic in two hours and 32 minutes. It was Chardy’s first win over Cilic in almost four years (2017 Miami) and he next challenges French compatriot Gilles Simon or Sweden’s Elias Ymer.
Alex Bolt beat fellow Australian and pre-season training partner Thanasi Kokkinakis, who was playing his first tour-level match since the 2019 US Open, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in one hour and 54 minutes.
Five-time Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray will miss this year's tournament after testing positive for coronavirus and failing to board one of Tennis Australia's charter flights last week.
Former world number one Andy Murray said he was ‘gutted’ after deciding to withdraw from next month’s Australian Open following a positive test for COVID-19 earlier this month.