Tennis Australia and government authorities had arranged for players to serve a 14-day mandatory quarantine at the Westin Melbourne ahead of the Feb. 8-21 Australian Open.
Victoria, of which Melbourne is the capital, reintroduced the compulsory wearing of masks in indoor public places from Thursday while private gatherings were reduced from 30 people to 15.
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The honorary consulate of India in Brisbane was forced to close down on Wednesday due to safety concerns after Khalistan supporters organised an unauthorised gathering and blocked the entry of the office, days after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese assured India that his government will not tolerate "extreme actions."
Players competed at empty stadiums at Melbourne Park through the five-day lockdown but reduced capacity crowds of 7,477 have been permitted in each of Thursday's two sessions and the same number for the singles finals sessions on Saturday and Sunday.
'We're absolutely confident the Australian Open will go ahead'
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Organisers of this year's US and French Opens established bio-secure 'bubbles' for players, who were not allowed to leave their hotel rooms except to train and play.
Aryna Sabalenka rose above geopolitical tumult to become the first player to claim a Grand Slam title as a neutral at the Australian Open.
Images from Day 7 of the 2022 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Sunday.
Australia's second-most populous state of Victoria reported no local coronavirus cases on Saturday for the second straight day, boding well for the Australian Open tennis tournament due to start in Melbourne on Monday.
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Federer is tied with Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic in the race to be the most successful men's singles Grand Slam champion of all time and Australian Open organisers would have been hoping to have all three at Melbourne Park.
Immigration Minister Alex Hawke's office said he was still considering whether to use his discretionary power to cancel Novak Djokovic's visa.
Victoria state Premier Daniel Andrews on Monday said his government is negotiating with Cricket Australia and Tennis Australia to have crowd attendance for the city's iconic sports events -- Boxing Day Test involving India and the Australian Open.
Tennis Australia (TA) planned for players and their entourages to arrive in Victoria in mid-December to have time to undertake a mandatory two-week quarantine period before competing in January.
The Sports Ministry slammed organisers of the Australian Open, saying they have wrongfully denied Indian tennis player Aman Dahiya an opportunity to compete in the junior Grand Slam by rejecting his application for vaccine exemption.
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Images from Day 5 of the 2023 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Friday.
Spain's Paula Badosa, the women's world number 67, was the only player to contract the coronavirus. She was released from hotel quarantine on Wednesday.
The UK capital on Wednesday unleashed a major operation to manage the several thousands of people expected to queue over the next few days to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II as she lies in state at Westminster Hall.
Novak Djokovic, who has won a record nine titles at Melbourne Park including the last three, has repeatedly declined to reveal whether he has been vaccinated against COVID-19, with Australian Open organisers Tennis Australia confirming that all players would have to be vaccinated to compete in Melbourne.
Australia's Nick Kyrgios said he supported vaccination "but how we are handling Novak's situation is bad, really bad". The Australian Open begins on January 17, but the multi-millionaire Djokovic is constrained from training as he sits in a hotel where one Iranian detainee said he had found maggots and mould in the bread.
Large crowds thronged popular boulevards, tourist hubs and entertainment centres across India and many joined special prayers at places of worship on Sunday as people stepped out to celebrate the New Year without COVID-19 restrictions.
Melbourne on Friday completed 28 days since the last reported locally-acquired case of novel coronavirus infection.
Tennis Australia Chief Executive Craig Tiley confirmed in an email to players that authorities had agreed to allow players to train during two weeks of strict quarantine.
All players who want a visa to compete in the Australian Open will need to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19, the country's immigration minister said on Wednesday, putting Novak Djokovic's title defence and Grand Slam record bid in doubt.
On Monday, however, protestors agreed to move to a space near the legislative council, the government headquarters, which enabled the authorities to reopen the streets for traffic.
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It has been 24 days since Victoria reported a locally acquired COVID-19 infection, while Australia as a whole posted a 13th straight day without a community case on Saturday.
The games were scheduled to start at 1000 am local time (2300 GMT) but did not get underway until about 1130 after Victoria state's environment watchdog said air quality had plunged to "hazardous" levels overnight.
The players have been allowed out to practise for five hours a day during their quarantine but Djokovic said he had headed to a local park on his first morning in Australia without restrictions.
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World men's tennis No. 1 Novak Djokovic headed reluctantly home on Monday after being kicked out of Australia because of his COVID-19 unvaccinated status, but the government left the door open for a possible return to his favourite Grand Slam in 2023.
Novak Djokovic is still uncertain whether he will take part in the 2022 Australian Open but will soon make a decision, the World No 1 said after Serbia's 2-1 defeat by Croatia in the Davis Cup semi-finals on Friday.
'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.'
Playing in his first competitive singles match on the ATP Tour since August 5, the 20-times Grand Slam champion showed no signs of rust in his second round win against Lithuanian qualifier Ricardas Berankis.
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