Andy Murray says he will support any government decision concerning stricter measures being in place for players who have not been vaccinated against COVID-19 at the upcoming Australian Open.
Recently the Victorian government, who are in charge of the state where the Grand Slam is located, announced a brand new health mandate requiring key workers to be vaccinated. These include all professional athletes. However, it is the national government of Australia who will have the final say regarding if unvaccinated players will be allowed into the country next year.
Earlier this week Victorian Sports Minister Martin Pakula urged all players to have their COVID-19 vaccine in order to have the best chance of playing in the tournament. Tennis Australia is yet to finalise the rules and it is believed that discussions are still underway.
Questioned about the situation following his straight sets defeat to Alexander Zverev in Indian Wells, Murray says he has no problem with such rules being implemented. It is reported that vaccinated players may be allowed to skip the mandatory 14-day quarantine upon arrival in Australia, according to ABC News.
“My understanding is if you’re unvaccinated you’re still allowed to play, it’s just the rules are going to be different,” said Murray.
“You might just have to leave (for Australia) a few weeks earlier than everyone else. That’s the player’s choice. If the local government puts that in place then I would support that.
“It would be great if more players got vaccinated.
“Australia in particular has been very, very strict over there. The public there have had to endure a painful 18 months or whatever.
“If people are going to come into the country and potentially risk an outbreak in their community, that’s understandable.”
Zverev, who has not publicly disclosed his vaccination status, has also expressed his backing to the measures in a somewhat diplomatic way. The German beat Murray 6-4, 7-6(4), in their clash on Tuesday by coming back from a break down in both sets.
“I fully respect the decisions of players that are not vaccinated,” Zverev said.
“I also do respect the decision that the Australian government is giving.
“I don’t want to be in the middle of something which I kind of am not involved in, because I don’t have that issue of the two-week quarantine … I don’t want to go against anybody here.”
The Australian Open main draw will begin on January 17th with Novak Djokovic and Naomi Osaka being the reigning champions.
‘I’m not sure if I deserve to play’
Looking ahead to the rest of the season after his latest match, Murray has confirmed to BBC Sport that he doesn’t plan to play in the Davis Cup finals next month. The former world No.1 has represented Great Britain in 21 ties since 2005 and was instrumental in guiding his team to the title in 2015.
Murray says he is unsure if he is good enough to make the team this year despite an increase in his form in recent weeks. He is currently ranked 121st in the world and is the fourth highest ranked British player on the ATP Tour.
“I also don’t feel right now I would be playing,” he told BBC Sport. “Obviously that would be up to Leon (Smith) but I’m not sure I deserve to play in that team.
“Cam [Norrie] and Dan [Evans] have had a great year. Liam Broady’s in and around the top 100 now and we’ve got very strong doubles as well.
“Right now, I’m not planning on playing the Davis Cup and with the late finish to it, and early departure to Australia, with my schedule between now and the end of the year, I am going to have to rest and take a break and give my body a chance to breathe.
“And I want to make sure in the off season I get to spend as much time with my family as I can because I have been away from that recently and that will be case when I go to Australia as well.”
Great Britain will start their Davis Cup campaign by playing in Innsbruck which is one of the cities selected to hold the Group stages. They will play France and Czech Republic for a chance to progress to the knockout stages which will be held in Madrid, Spain.
Murray will shortly be heading back to Europe where he will be playing tournaments in Antwerp and Vienna after being given wildcards.
