Preparations for the Australian Open were dealt a fresh blow on Wednesday when a member of hotel staff tested positive for coronavirus, although Victoria's premier insists the tournament is not under threat at this stage.
A 26-year-old worker at the Grand Hyatt Hotel returned a negative test at the end of his previous shift on January 29 but subsequently developed symptoms and tested positive on Wednesday.
As a result, Melbourne and the wider Victoria region has reverted to its New Year's Eve restrictions of gatherings at home being limited to 15 people and masks having to be worn in public indoor spaces.
In terms of the specific impact upon participants in the Australian Open, players, officials and support staff who were staying at the hotel during this period must now isolate and undertake a COVID-19 test.
The number of tournament-related personnel classed as "casual contacts" related to the incident is estimated to be between 500 and 600.
Nevertheless, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews told a news conference he was confident the Australian Open would go ahead as planned, even though the requirement that some players isolate and test could have an impact upon warm-up tournaments that are ongoing at Melbourne Park.
"There's about 500-600 people that are either players and officials and others who are casual contacts," Andrews said.
"They will be isolating until they get a negative test and that work will be done tomorrow so it might have an impact on tomorrow's play in the lead-up event, but at this stage there's no impact to the tournament proper.
"That's important to us, but the issue we're most focused on is much broader. That's about public health and public safety and that's why we've really pounced on this."
The Australian Open is scheduled to run from February 8-21.
Keys downs Gauff to reach Madrid Open quarter-finals
Madison Keys is through to the quarter-final of the Madrid Open for the first time in her career after rallying to a 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Monday.
The 29-year-old trailed 5-2 in the first set and 4-2 in the third set but rallied in both to come from behind to beat the number three seed.
Despite winning the second set, Gauff struggled to find her rhythm, suffering from 13 double faults, including two in the final game.
Keys will face former Madrid Open champion Ons Jabeur for a spot in the semi-final after the number eight seed overcame Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.
Data debrief: Keys reaches new milestone
Having lost in the first round in seven of her nine previous trips to the Spanish capital, Keys has now bettered her previous best finish in Madrid - a third-round showing in 2016.
Keys hadn't won three matches in a row since reaching the US Open semifinals last year.
Keys downs Gauff to reach Madrid quarter-finals
Madison Keys is through to the quarter-final of the Madrid Open for the first time in her career after rallying to a 7-6 (7-4), 4-6, 6-4 win over Coco Gauff on Monday.
The 29-year-old trailed 5-2 in the first set and 4-2 in the third set but rallied in both to come from behind to beat the number three seed.
Despite winning the second set, Gauff struggled to find her rhythm, suffering from 13 double faults, including two in the final game.
Keys will face former Madrid Open champion Ons Jabeur for a spot in the semi-final after the number eight seed overcame Jelena Ostapenko in straight sets.
Data debrief: Keys reaches new milestone
Having lost in the first round in seven of her nine previous trips to the Spanish capital, Keys has now bettered her previous best finish in Madrid - a third-round showing in 2016.
Keys hadn't won three matches in a row since reaching the US Open semifinals last year.
Nadal goes the distance to reach Madrid Open last 16
Rafael Nadal battled to victory over three hours on the court against Pedro Cachin at the Madrid Open on Monday to seal a 6-1 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 win to reach the last 16.
The former world number one looked back to his best as he cruised through the opening set but was pushed hard in the second by Cachin.
Nadal came from behind to level at 5-5, but Cachin eventually sealed the set on his third set point.
The Spaniard then rallied in the third set, cutting down on his errors to regain control and advance to the fourth round at a tour-level event for the first time since 2022.
Nadal is one step away from booking his place in a 10th consecutive quarter-final in Madrid and will face Jiri Lehecka on Tuesday in the next round after the 30th seed overcame Brazilian qualifier Thiago Monteiro in two sets.
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