Murray awarded main-draw wildcard at Australian Open

Murray
has
finished
as
a
runner-up
five
times
at
Melbourne
Park
–
most
recently
in
2016
when
he
was
beaten
by
Novak
Djokovic
6-1
7-5
7-6
(7-3).

The
Scot
has
since
struggled
with
a
hip
injury
that
had
him
on
the
verge
of
retirement,
while
he
dropped
to
134th
in
the
world
rankings.

However,
the
former
world
number
one
was
in
action
at
the
Mubadala
World
Tennis
Championship
in
Abu
Dhabi
last
week,
where
he
defeated
Rafael
Nadal
before
eventually
falling
to
Andrey
Rublev
in
the
final
of
the
exhibition
event.

Murray
was
due
to
feature
at
the
Australian
Open
in
2020
before
a
positive
coronavirus
test
stopped
him
from
playing,
but
the
34-year-old
is
thankful
for
the
chance
to
compete
in
Melbourne
again.

“I’m
really
excited
to
be
back
playing
at
the
Australian
Open
and
grateful
to
Craig
[Tiley]
and
the
team
for
the
opportunity,”
Murray
said
on
his
wildcard,
as
quoted
by
the
tournament’s
website.

“I’ve
had
some
great
times
in
Australia
playing
in
front
of
the
amazing
crowds
and
I
can’t
wait
to
step
back
out
on
court
at
Melbourne
Park.”

Tournament
director
and
Tennis
Australia
chief
executive
Craig
Tiley
added:
“Andy
is
renowned
for
his
fighting
spirit,
passion
and
love
of
the
game,
and
I’m
delighted
to
welcome
him
back
to
Melbourne
in
January.”

American
Stefan
Kozlov
and
Frenchman
Lucas
Pouille
join
Murray
as
the
men’s
singles
wildcards
so
far,
with
the
other
four
spots
likely
to
go
to
Australians
and
another
to
an
Asia-Pacific
player.

The
Australian
Open
gets
underway
on
January
17
with
the
final
set
to
take
place
13
days
later.