Andy Murray makes grand slam comeback at Australian Open
Despite the bitter defeat in the second round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Shanghai, Andy Murray has every reason to be happy. The Scot will start at the Australian Open 2020.
by SID
last edit: Oct 08, 2019, 07:23 pm
Two-time Olympic tennis champion Andy Murray makes his comeback at the Grand Slam level at the Australian Open (January 20 to February 2, 2020) after more than a year of abstinence. This was announced by the organizers of the hard court tournament on Tuesday. The former world number one had contested his last individual in a Grand Slam in pain and tears in the first round of the Australian Open in January 2019, before failing for months after a hip operation.
For the renewed participation in Melbourne, Murray, who dropped to number 289 in the world rankings, uses his "Protected Ranking", which is due to any player who has been injured for a long time. The Scotsman only returned to the ATP tour in August after his injury.
"It is great that he has returned. If he is healthy, he can play at the highest level - regardless of his ranking. He is a great champion," said Novak Djokovic, the world number one from Serbia, about his long-time rival: " It looks like he said goodbye too soon. So much the better that he's back. "
Five finals in Melbourne
After starting difficulties at the first tournaments, the 32-year-old Murray played the previous week at the 500cc tournament in Beijing until the quarter-finals, at the Masters in Shanghai he was eliminated on Tuesday from the tenth-placed Italian Fabio Fognini in the second round.
At the Australian Open, Murray had already made five finals, but left the place as losers.