Murray tests positive; Main advances in UTR $25K

Andy Murray could miss the Australian Open, in which
he is a five-time runner-up. File photo by Paul Bauman

   Andy Murray, who won the first two of his 46 tour-level singles titles in San Jose, Calif., reportedly has tested positive for the coronavirus. 

   The former world No. 1 could miss the Australian Open, which has been postponed three weeks to Feb. 8-21 in Melbourne. The tournament requires a two-week quarantine beforehand and a negative virus test before departing. 

   Murray, 33, reportedly has no symptoms of COVID-19. The three-time Grand Slam singles champion, who played only four tournaments last year because of the five-month COVID break and lingering hip problems, has tumbled to No. 123 in the world. He underwent a second operation on his right hip in January 2019 and missed five months.

   Murray received a wild card in this year's Australian Open, in which he is a five-time runner-up.

   Six-time champion Roger Federer, 39, also will miss the tournament after having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee twice in the first half of 2020.  

   UTR Pro Tennis Series — Tomi Main, a high school junior from Seaside, Calif., in the Monterey area, defeated Isabella Chhiv, a high school sophomore from Irvine, Calif., 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the third-place playoff in Newport Beach, Calif.

   Main, who has verbally committed to play at Texas Tech, led 5-1 in the third set in the $25,000 tournament. She is scheduled to play top-seeded Maya Pitts, a high school senior from Los Angeles, on Saturday at about 11 a.m. PST. Live streaming is available. 

   Pitts routed Misa Malkin, a University of South Carolina signee from Tucson, Ariz., 6-1, 6-2.

   Top-seeded Katie Volynets, a 19-year-old pro from Walnut Creek, Calif., in the San Francisco Bay Area, is slated to meet Jessica Luisa Alsola, a University of California, Berkeley signee from Fresno, Calif., on Saturday at 9 a.m. in the semifinals of the first-place playoff. The match will be streamed live.