'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
World No. 14 Denis Shapovalov and 73rd-ranked Borna Coric were among the first players to arrive Down Under ahead of the Australian Open that gets underway on January 17.
Coric, a quarterfinalist at US Open 2020, was reportedly the first player to land in Australia. The Croatian, who reached a career-high No. 12 in the world rankings in 2018, hasn't played since reaching the semifinals at Rotterdam in March this year. He underwent shoulder surgery in May which has kept him out of action for the past few months.
Shapovalov, meanwhile, defeated 20-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal to clinch third place at the recently-concluded Mubadala World Tennis Championship. While the Abu Dhabi event saw an outbreak of positive COVID-19 cases that affected Emma Raducanu, Belinda Bencic, Ons Jabeur and Nadal, the Canadian managed to stay safe.
Trending
The Wimbledon semifinalist will lead his country in the ATP Cup that begins on January 1 in Sydney.
With the Victorian government mandate requiring all players to be fully vaccinated, Australian Open organizers have been strict with their rules. Anybody arriving in Melbourne or Sydney must return a negative PCR test in the 72 hours before flying.
A test on arrival will also be done and the concerned individuals must remain in isolation until a negative report is received.
Accommodation for all players competing at the Melbourne Slam has been arranged at the Crown to minimize the risk of outside transmission.
Simona Halep, Matteo Berrettini, Alja Tomljanovic, Casper Ruud next in line to arrive in Australia
Simona Halep, who finished as the runner-up at the Australian Open in 2018, is among the next set of players set to arrive Down Under. The Romanian is expected to land in Australia on Monday along with local hope Ajla Tomljanovic, a Wimbledon quarterfinalist this year.
Top 10 players Casper Ruud and Matteo Berrettini are also due to reach Australia on the same day.
World No. 5 Andrey Rublev, who won the Mubadala World Tennis Championship, recently revealed that he will be departing for Australia on December 27.
Tennis Australia has also arranged chartered flights from six airports - namely Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Los Angeles, Santiago, Tokyo and Singapore - for the safety of players and their support staff. While the first of the flights is scheduled to arrive in Australia on Tuesday, the last has been reported to land on January 5.
Also Check Out: Updated Tennis Schedule 2022
