Nearly 12,000 kilometers (7,500 miles) from Melbourne, the qualifying tournament has been completed for the Australian Open, with 16 men and 16 women set to join the singles main draw beginning Feb. 8.
It was the Indian's sixth attempt to qualify for a competition at the grand stage.
In the women's singles qualifiers being held in Dubai, Ankita overcame a second-set lapse to win 6-2 2-6 6-3 in the second round against the Ukrainian.
Denis Kudla, seeded No. 4 in the qualifying event, was withdrawn following a 6-4, 6-3 first-round win over Elliot Benchetrit. Francisco Cerundolo beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-2, 6-4 before he was withdrawn.
Ramkumar, who is yet to make a Grand Slam main draw appearance, ousted 10th seed Argentine Facundo Bagnis with a hard-fought 7-6(6) 7-5 victory in one hour and 53 minutes in men's singles first round.
Tennis Australia, the governing body for the sport, said in a statement on Saturday that the group of international players will arrive in Adelaide from January 14 and undergo mandatory quarantine for 14 days.
Nagal, who is India's second highest ranked men's singles player and holds a world ranking of 136 and Chinese world no. 123 Wang Xiyu are the recipients of the Asia-Pacific wildcard.
Former top-ranked Murray has slipped to No. 122 in the ATP rankings after several years of battling hip injuries and surgery.
Tony Godsick — Federer’s long-time representative and CEO of their management company, TEAM8 — said Sunday he is working on putting together a 2021 tennis calendar for the 20-time Grand Slam champion
Apart from the star duo, world number one Ash Barty and eight-time champion Novak Djokovic (SRB) will lead the fields at the tournament slated to be held from February 8-21.
Qualifying for the men's singles draw in Melbourne will take place in Doha, Qatar and for the women's in Dubai, both from Jan. 10-13.
The ATP said that men’s qualifying for the season’s first Grand Slam tournament is being moved to Doha, Qatar, from Jan. 10-13.
Players will have to quarantine for two weeks from Jan. 15, but the Victorian Government has reportedly agreed to special conditions for players.
Australian Open tournament director and Tennis Australia chief executive Craig Tiley last weekend said the final dates should be confirmed within two weeks.
Chief executive Craig Tiley was responding on Sunday to unsourced reports the season-opening grand slam event might be pushed back until February, March or even later.
Andrews' government was in the forefront of a second wave of COVID-19 deaths in his state which saw lengthy lockdowns for Melbourne residents.
Although tennis stars Roger Federer and Serena Williams have already committed to next year's tournament, Tiley said players simply won't show up if they can't prepare properly.
There is speculation that MCG may miss out on hosting the Boxing Day Test, an annual highlight on the calendar, since Victoria is reeling under COVID-19 pandemic.
The Australian Open is first of the four Grand Slams during the season and usually starts in late January. Victoria's capital Melbourne has been the host venue since 1972.
The 105th edition of the Australian Open golf championship was slated to be held in November.
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