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Gulbis also through to main draw in Melbourne

Australian Max Purcell reached a career milestone at the Australian Open on Friday, qualifying for his first Grand Slam main draw with a 6-4, 6-2 victory against Jozef Kovalik.

The Sydney native, who edged back-to-back three-set matches to reach the final qualifying round, landed 24 winners and converted four break points to cruise into his first major championship after 72 minutes. Purcell entered the tournament with one win from seven previous Grand Slam qualifying encounters.

Joining Purcell in the main draw will be Ernests Gulbis, who defeated Prajnesh Gunneswaran 7-6(2), 6-2 in 80 minutes. Gulbis will be making his 10th appearance in the main draw at the first Grand Slam of the season, where he has reached the second round on two occasions.

Norbert Gombos did not drop a set through his three qualifying matches, booking his spot with a 6-3, 6-3 win against Pedja Krstin. The Slovakian will be joined in the main draw by Peter Gojowczyk of Germany, who landed 21 winners to defeat Constant Lestienne 6-2, 6-3 in 65 minutes.

In second-round action, top seed Dennis Novak beat Filip Horansky 6-1, 6-4 to move one win away from a place in the main draw. The Austrian, who cracked the Top 100 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time on Monday, will meet Hiroki Moriya of Japan. Moriya overcame 23rd seed Steven Diez 6-4, 7-5 in one hour and 37 minutes.

Kimmer Coppejans moved past third seed Brayden Schnur of Canada 7-6(3), 6-3. The 25-year-old Belgian will meet Christopher Eubanks of the United States in the final qualifying round.

Top 5 seeds Emil Ruusuvuori and Andrej Martin were both defeated by French opposition. Elliot Benchetrit outlasted fourth seed Ruusuvuori 6-4, 0-6, 7-6(3), while Mathias Bourgue edged fifth seed Martin 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-5.

As the Australian Open prepares to begin play Monday, tournament officials face a potential environmental crisis as a result of Australia's ongoing bushfires.

Smoke continued to blanket the city of Melbourne on Wednesday, delaying the first two days of qualifying.

Tennis Australia boss and Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said that when it becomes obvious smoke could have an impact, officials are prepared to act for the welfare of all involved -- players, fans and staff. Tennis Australia said it will work with its medical team, the Bureau of Meteorology, and Environment Protection Authority Victoria scientists when making decisions about whether it's healthy to play.

Here are some frequently asked questions regarding the impact the bushfires may have on the first Grand Slam of the year:
How close are the fires to Melbourne?

Melbourne, home of the Australian Open, is the capital and most populous city of Victoria, one of the six states that make up Australia. The city is in the southeast corner of the country along the coast where most people live and most of the bushfires have been burning. The major cities have largely been spared, but dense smoke has caused severe problems in some places like the Australian capital of Canberra. An ATP Challenger event scheduled for Canberra in early January had to be moved about 400 miles west to Bendigo because of excessive smoke in the atmosphere.
On Dec. 30, about 100,000 people were urged to flee five Melbourne suburbs as a heat wave combined with high winds left the city suffocatingly hot and dense with smoke. One firefighter was killed on the outlying countryside. While fire is the preeminent danger, smoke -- sometimes driven over great distances by wind -- is a more sinister threat that cannot be fought
The situation in the state of Victoria has forced @vicemergency (the state's official alert system) to issue at least one recent emergency warning of "imminent" danger from a bushfire for Noorinbee, 230 miles east of Melbourne. "You are in danger and need to act immediately to survive," the warning said.
Will it be safe to attend the Australian Open?

There appears to be little danger from fires at the moment, but heat is always a factor Down Under. This year, smoke and the toxic elements it carries is an active concern, especially in combination with the familiar Melbourne heat.

The city has already closed a number of beaches and pools, sporting events have been canceled and construction workers have been forced to abandon outdoor projects. Ambulance calls for people struggling to breathe also have risen significantly.

The smoky days at the start of the new year spurred many people to purchase P2 and N95 masks. The Australian Medical Association has advised people with pre-existing lung or heart conditions as well as those sensitive to smoke to take special precautions. Many have purchased the common, relatively inexpensive, small respirators that slip over the nose and mouth commonly used by house painters, woodworkers and others. Visitors to Australia have been advised to bring their own.
How will Tennis Australia determine whether conditions are safe for the players?

In a statement issued to the media on Jan. 6, Tiley stated: "There will be meteorological and air quality experts onsite to analyse all available live data and assess in real-time the air quality at Melbourne Park, and we always work closely with our medical personnel and other local experts."

On Tuesday morning, with Melbourne's air quality officially ranked as the third-worst in the world, Tiley and chief operating officer Tom Larner fronted a hastily arranged media opportunity to assure that the tournament would act in the best interests of the players, fans and staff.

"This is a new experience for all of us in how we manage air quality, so we have to listen to the experts," Tiley said.

On Friday, Australian Open organizers belatedly published details of their "Air Quality Policy," confirming that play at the first Grand Slam event of the year could be stopped if conditions are considered to be adverse to players' health.

Responding to criticism from players, who said they had not been fully informed earlier in the week when smoke from the bushfires blew into Melbourne during the qualifying event, officials released the policy.

However, the decision to stop play or not will still largely be at the discretion of the tournament referee.

The Air Quality Rating (AQI) consists of five bands from one to five, "determined by analyzing concentrations of air pollutants at Melbourne Park and in particular, the fine particulate matter rating (PM2.5)."

Play is allowed under the first three bands -- "good" (below 27), "moderate" (27-62) and "air may affect sensitive groups" (62-97) -- but if the level is between 97 and 200, "match play may be suspended," though that will be up to the tournament referee.

If the rating is in the fifth band, over 200, then play will automatically be suspended.

The publication of the policy came three days after organizers were heavily criticized for allowing play to go on when a number of players complained of breathing difficulties at the qualifying event.

The AQI reading from the station nearest Rod Laver Arena on Monday morning was 427, which is considered "hazardous."

Tennis Australia has never had an air-quality policy because it has never before been a significant issue.

Due to the constant threat of excessive heat, tournament officials have established sophisticated protocols for measuring conditions, including the WetBulb Globe Temperature (WBGT), and the tournament has a transparent extreme-heat policy in place. It features a five-step Australian Open heat-stress scale that measures heat-related factors that trigger a variety of remedial actions, from brief breaks to suspension of play sitewide.

Over the years, those protocols have evolved from a simple dictate in 1998 to suspend play when the temperature hit 104 degrees Fahrenheit to a suite of responses depending on the temperature and WBGT index (which takes factors other than temperature, including humidity, into consideration). The measures include closing the roof on covered courts during day matches, heat-mandated 10-minute breaks between sets and stoppages of at least two hours.

The athletes have various ways to deal with heat, including iced towels, appropriate headgear, misting fans, frequent changes of clothing, and strategies that include prematch hydration at hourly intervals, salt tablets, etc. But there's little anyone can do to mitigate for air quality. Masks may help, but they impair oxygen intake. Inhalers that soothe sore throats might provide temporary relief from soreness but they could also mask the damage being done.
Do the ATP and WTA have protocols of their own to safeguard their players?

Both the ATP and WTA have told ESPN.com that they are leaving decisions about the playing conditions in the hands of Tennis Australia. But Djokovic did tell reporters that he put air-quality considerations on the agenda at the annual player meeting that precedes the tournament.

That's a good idea, given Tennis Australia's lack of a transparent mechanism for determining when to pull the plug on play due to hazardous air quality.

While practicing in Melbourne during the worst days of smoke in early January, Denis Kudla told The New York Times, "If it's anything like yesterday, I don't think it would be safe over a two-, three-week period. You could play [in the Australian Open], but who knows what damage we're actually causing ourselves? It can't be good."
What recourse does the tournament have in the event that the air quality halts play?

It sounds far-fetched, but in a worst-case scenario, the Australian Open could become the first hybrid outdoor-indoor tournament. That's because the National Tennis Center has four roofed stadiums as well as eight indoor courts. The air circulation systems in the roofed venues includes some filtration, but earlier this month in Sydney the smoke overwhelmed some air-conditioning units and triggered smoke alarms indoors in some buildings. Tiley said, "[We have] effectively weatherproofed the Australian Open."

We may yet see whether that also means they have smokeproofed it.
How are the players feeling about the weeks ahead and the challenges they may face?

During Tuesday's qualifiers, smoke and hazy conditions at Melbourne Park affected the players, with organizers criticized for allowing matches to proceed. The start of qualifying was delayed by an hour due to the smoky haze, but practice sessions were canceled.

A number of players complained, including Australian Bernard Tomic, who sought medical treatment during his first-round loss when he struggled to breathe. Slovenia's Dalila Jakupovic said she feared she would pass out before retiring from her match when she collapsed to her knees with a coughing spell.

"I was really scared that I would collapse," Jakupovic said. "That's why I went onto the floor, because I couldn't walk anymore.

"I don't have asthma and never had breathing problems."

Qualifier Noah Rubin tweeted a screenshot of the AQI for Melbourne showing a value of 559. Maria Sharapova and Laura Siegemund had to quit in the middle of their exhibition match at nearby Kooying.

On Wednesday, Australian Open officials delayed play by three hours during qualifiers, but the air-quality index was still graded as "unhealthy" when the players took to the court due to the smoke.

Canadian world No. 103 Brayden Schnur, the third seed in the qualifying tournament, was critical of officials after his first-round win over Austrian Sebastian Ofner, which took more than two hours in the hazy conditions on Wednesday.

"You feel super dryness in your throat," Schnur said. "That's 100 percent not normal, and players who have asthma are at a huge disadvantage right now."

On Thursday, British player Liam Broady accused Australian Open officials of treating qualifiers worse than animals as calls grow among players to form a union.
Canadian player Vasek Pospisil said the situation was "absurd" and it was "time for a players' union."

Tiley addressed the criticism from players on Thursday, saying: "Our medical team were satisfied with the conditions that the players were competing in [in qualifying], per all of the research and the data and the science that they have.

"But they also make an assessment. You could have been two hours into those matches and have 25 people presenting themselves with a medical condition that may be related to the pollutants.

"If that's the case, inform me, and we stop."

Winds have moved the smoke away from Melbourne, but forecasters are predicting it could return on Saturday for the culmination of the qualifying event.

The ATP and WTA Player Councils met separately in Melbourne on Friday, with smoke and playing conditions high on the agenda at both.

Despite the concerns, many of the top tennis players have vowed to support Australians suffering because of the bushfires.

Nick Kyrgios got the ball rolling when he pledged to donate $140 (U.S.) for every ace he hit during the ATP Cup. Scores of ATP and WTA players followed suit. Serena Williams donated her $43,000 ASB Classic winner's check to Australian wildfires victims. The ATP donated $725,000 on behalf of the players, and the ITF will contribute an additional $400,000.
Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Kyrgios, Williams and others took part in a Rally for Relief bushfire charity exhibition at Rod Laver Arena on Wednesday night that, according to Tennis Australia, raised nearly $3.5 million for the bushfire relief effort. The event drew a capacity crowd of more than 15,000. During the event, Nadal announced that he and Federer would combine to donate $250,000. But despite the drive to support the bushfire victims, Federer and Nadal faced criticism from Schnur for failing to step up and protest against playing conditions during qualifying.

"Roger and Rafa are a little bit selfish in thinking about themselves and their careers," Schnur said, "because they're near the end and all they're thinking about is their legacy, and they're not thinking about the sport itself and trying to do what's good for the sport. So those guys need to step up."

Information from AAP and Reuters contributed to this report.

Learn about the 2020 Milan contenders who could make their mark in Melbourne
In back-to-back seasons, the player who won the Next Gen ATP Finals the previous year went on to reach the Australian Open semi-finals two months later. Will a #NextGenATP star make a breakthrough in Melbourne in the coming fortnight?

ATPTour.com examines five of the #NextGenATP stars to watch at this year's Australian Open:

Denis Shapovalov
Shapovalov finished 2019 with a career-best result, reaching the final of the Rolex Paris Masters. And the dynamic lefty began 2020 just as well, earning Top 10 wins against Stefanos Tsitsipas and Alexander Zverev — both former Nitto ATP Finals champions — and pushing World No. 2 Novak Djokovic to a final-set tie-break at the ATP Cup.

Under the tutelage of former World No. 8 Mikhail Youzhny, Shapovalov has climbed to a career-high World No. 13, allowing fewer lapses in concentration and harnessing his shotmaking abilities.

Despite losing in the quarter-finals of the ASB Classic in Auckland, Shapovalov carries a lot of momentum into Melbourne, where he lost to Djokovic in the third round last year. Shapovalov will play Hungarian Marton Fucsovics for the first time before potentially facing 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals champion Jannik Sinner, who opens against a qualifier.

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/deni ... iew'>Denis Shapovalov</a> is aiming to lift his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the <a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/ ... iew'>Rolex Paris Masters</a> this week.

Felix Auger-Aliassime
This #NextGenATP Canadian has been under a microscope since his early teens, as he became the youngest player to win a main draw match on the ATP Challenger Tour when he was 14. And in 2019, the righty showed why, climbing from outside the Top 100 at the start of the year to a career-high World No. 17 in October. He made his first three ATP Tour finals in Rio de Janeiro, Lyon and Stuttgart.

Auger-Aliassime was soaring entering the most recent Grand Slam, seeded No. 18 at the 2019 US Open, where he lost against Shapovalov in straight sets in the first round. But the 19-year-old is off to a good start in 2020, reaching the semi-finals of the Adelaide International, losing in three sets to in-form Andrey Rublev.

Auger-Aliassime will make his Australian Open main draw debut as the No. 20 seed against a qualifier. If he advances, he will face Aussie James Duckworth or Slovenian Aljaz Bedene.

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/feli ... iew'>Felix Auger-Aliassime</a> celebrates a point in Monte-Carlo

Miomir Kecmanovic
Kecmanovic competed in the main draw of each of the four Grand Slams for the first time in 2019, reaching the second round at Roland Garros, Wimbledon and the US Open. The Serbian will now look for his first main draw victory at the Australian Open when he faces Italian veteran Andreas Seppi in their first ATP Head2Head meeting, with 2014 champion Stan Wawrinka or 27-year-old Damir Dzumhur lurking in the second round.

Kecmanovic has steadily improved, utilising his solid baseline game to climb from World No. 131 at the beginning of 2019 to a career-high World No. 47 last August.

“He has improved his serve enough and his groundstrokes are really solid. He’s tough to beat,” said former World No. 5 Jimmy Arias. “He hits the ball deep, consistently, he moves well and obviously competes well.”

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/miom ... ew'>Miomir Kecmanovic</a> hits a volley in the third round of the <a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/tournaments/ ... rview'>BNP Paribas Open</a>.

Jannik Sinner
No #NextGenATP star gained as much momentum in the final weeks of 2019 as Sinner. The teenager, who began last season outside the Top 500 of the FedEx ATP Rankings, made a big splash by pushing former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka to four sets at the US Open and defeating then-World No. 13 Gael Monfils in Antwerp. But the Italian saved his best for the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan, where he took the title with an impressive victory against Aussie Alex de Minaur.

Now Sinner is World No. 79, and ready to make his mark in the first Grand Slam for which he has earned a main draw berth via his FedEx ATP Ranking. Sinner will face a qualifier in the first round in Melbourne, and he could potentially face No. 13 seed Shapovalov next.

<a href='https://www.atptour.com/en/players/jann ... ew'>Jannik Sinner</a>

Alexei Popyrin
One year ago, when he was 19, Popyrin enjoyed his breakthrough. The home favourite reached the third round of the Australian Open with a win against then-World No. 8 Dominic Thiem, ultimately succumbing in five sets against eventual semi-finalist Lucas Pouille.

But since then, Popyrin has grown even more. Currently No. 95 in the FedEx ATP Rankings, this budding #NextGenATP star led the ATP Tour in 2019 by qualifying for 10 tour-level events. Five players were tied for second with six qualifications each. Popyrin will face a tough test in the first round against 2008 finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the No. 28 seed.

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Australian Open: Serena Williams seeks 24th Grand Slam; Djokovic, Federer & Nadal head men's field

By Jonathan Jurejko

BBC Sport at Melbourne Park

From the section Tennis

Serena Williams celebrates winning the 2017 Australian Open title
Serena Williams lifted the Australian Open trophy in 2017 - she has not won another Grand Slam title since
2020 Australian Open
Venue: Melbourne Park Dates: 20 January to 2 February
Coverage: Listen on BBC Radio 5 Live Sports Extra and online; Live text on selected matches on the BBC Sport website and app.

Serena Williams is the firm favourite to win the Australian Open as she again bids for a record-equalling 24th Grand Slam singles title.

The 38-year-old American is aiming to match the record set in 1973 by Australia's Margaret Court, who will be recognised at the tournament on the 50th anniversary of her calendar Grand Slam.

Old guard Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are still expected to be the men to beat in Melbourne, while Britain's former world number one Andy Murray is missing because of a pelvic injury.

The first Grand Slam of the 2020 season is set to go ahead as planned, despite the backdrop of raging bushfires that have devastated parts of Australia.

Here is everything you need to know.

'The tournament will happen' - Australian Open to go ahead, says Tiley
'It boils my blood': GB's Broady furious about air quality email
Gauff, 15, to face Venus Williams again in first round

Why isn't Murray playing?
Andy Murray
Andy Murray, a five-time Australian Open runner-up, picked up the pelvic problem at November's Davis Cup finals

For the eighth time in the past 10 Grand Slams, three-time major champion Andy Murray is unavailable to lead British hopes.

Murray, 32, was hoping to make a poignant return to Melbourne - where he tearfully admitted last January he thought his career was coming to an end because of chronic hip pain.

Since then, the Scot has had "life-changing" hip surgery, returned to competitive action and won ATP Tour titles in singles and doubles events.

Now he must wait a bit longer to return to Grand Slam singles competition after picking up a pelvic injury while playing for Great Britain at November's Davis Cup finals.

"Unfortunately I've had a setback and as a precaution need to work through that before competing," said the former world number one, who is planning to be back in action in February.

"I've worked so hard to get myself into a situation where I can play at the top level and I'm gutted I'm not going to be able to play."
Australia weather forecast: air quality should improve
Can any of the other Britons mount a challenge?

Britain's best hope of winning a first Australian Open singles title since Virginia Wade did so in 1972 looks to be Johanna Konta - if she is not hampered by a long-term knee issue.

Konta, ranked 13th in the world, reached at least the quarter-finals in three of the four Grand Slams last year.

Although the Australian Open was the only major where she did not compete in the last eight, the 28-year-old does have previous success in Melbourne, having reached the 2016 semi-finals.

The knee problem has disrupted the British number one's build-up, however, ruling her out of this week's Adelaide International and limiting her to only one tournament since September's US Open.

Joining Konta in the women's draw will be Katie Boulter, who is using her protected ranking of 85 to play after an injury-hit 2019 meant she dropped to 317th.

British number two Heather Watson is ranked 101 in the world, and was just outside the initial cut for direct entry, but has moved into the main draw automatically following several withdrawals by higher-ranked players.

Harriet Dart and Samantha Murray Sharan are seeking to join them by coming through the qualifying rounds.

In Murray's absence, British hopes in the men's singles are in the hands of 30th seed Dan Evans, Kyle Edmund and Cameron Norrie.

How to follow the Australian Open on BBC TV, radio & online
Tennis greats raise bushfire appeal money

Evans, 29, is the nation's leading male player after a fine 2019 in which he climbed back into the world's top 50 by getting to his first ATP Tour-level final and playing in the main draws of all four Grand Slams in the same calendar year for the first time.

Now, having reached a career-high ranking of 33 on Monday, he goes into a Grand Slam for the first time as Britain's leading male player and a seed.

Edmund, 25, is hoping a new coach in Franco Davin, who notably helped his fellow Argentine Juan Martin del Potro win the 2009 US Open, can help him replicate the form that took him to the Australian Open semi-finals in 2018.

The Yorkshireman slid down the rankings during a 2019 where he suffered for form and fitness before ending the year on a high by being Britain's standout player in their run to the Davis Cup semi-finals.

In the men's doubles, Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski will be seeking to build on the promise they showed in their new partnership last year, when they reached the US Open semi-finals.
Australian Open key dates
New decade, same 'Big Three'

It may be a new decade - but just as it was during the 2010s, and the latter part of the 2000s, the same three men are widely considered the main contenders to win the first Grand Slam of 2020.

Defending champion Djokovic, world number one Nadal and 20-time Grand Slam winner Federer remain the players to beat, having won the past 12 major titles between them.

Djokovic is aiming for a record-extending eighth men's singles title in Melbourne and showed just why he is so difficult to beat on the Australian hard courts, having led Serbia to glory in the inaugural ATP Cup.

The 32-year-old, who is aiming for a 17th Grand Slam title to close on Federer and 19-time major champion Nadal, dropped only two sets in his six singles matches, which included another dominant win over the Spaniard in Sunday's final in Sydney.

Nadal, 33, was outplayed by Djokovic in last year's Australian Open final and continues to struggle against the Serb, who has won their past nine encounters - and 19 sets - on hard courts.

As the top two seeds, they are projected to meet in the final on 2 February, although players such as Swiss great Federer, Russia's Daniil Medvedev and Greece's Stefanos Tsitsipas have the capability to stop them.

It remains to be seen whether Federer, 38, was wise to skip the ATP Cup, a decision intended to preserve his body for Melbourne, but one that leaves him short of court time going into the tournament.

Fourth seed Medvedev, 23, pushed Nadal in September's US Open final before losing an epic five-set match and, given his strong hard-court record over the past year, it seems a matter of time before he becomes a major winner.

The same can be said for 21-year-old Tsitsipas, who showed he can beat the best by becoming the ATP Finals champion in November and is looking to at least match his run to last year's semi-finals in a city where there is a large Greek community spurring him on.
Men's top eight seeds: Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Daniil Medvedev, Dominic Thiem, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev, Matteo Berrettini
Can 'relieved' Serena finally match Court's record?

Williams has not won a Grand Slam title since the 2017 Australian Open, when she was eight weeks pregnant.

Since returning from maternity leave in March 2018, she has reached four Grand Slam finals - two at Wimbledon and two at the US Open - losing them all.

But she goes into this tournament as the clear favourite, having rediscovered how to win a final.

Williams claimed the Auckland International on Sunday, beating fellow American Jessica Pegula in the final, to lift her first trophy in almost three years.

"It's been a long time; I think you could see the relief on my face," she said.

Williams' drought has helped open up the women's game; the past 11 Grand Slams have produced nine different winners, over a period that has seen seven players hold the world number one ranking.

Younger players have grasped their chance over the past three years, with 22-year-old Japanese Naomi Osaka and 19-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu both landing their first majors by beating Williams in New York, while the more experienced Caroline Wozniacki, of Denmark, and Simona Halep, of Romania, finally landed elusive Grand Slam titles.

Osaka, the defending champion in Melbourne, is expected to mount another title tilt on a surface that yielded a 14-match winning streak before she lost to Czech Karolina Pliskova in the Brisbane International semi-finals on Saturday.

Andreescu will not be playing in Melbourne, having pulled out with a knee injury sustained at the season-ending WTA Finals in October.

World number one Ashleigh Barty is aiming to become the first Australian woman to win at Melbourne Park in 42 years, while second seed Pliskova, having won the Brisbane title for the third successive year, is aiming prove wrong those who doubt she has the mindset to deliver a Grand Slam title.

Meanwhile, there will be an emotional farewell for 2018 champion Wozniacki, 29, who will retire after the tournament.
Top eight women's seeds: Ashleigh Barty, Karolina Pliskova, Naomi Osaka, Simona Halep, Elina Svitolina, Belinda Bencic, Petra Kvitova, Serena Williams
Has the tournament been affected by the bushfires?
Bushfires in Australia
Bushfires in the state of Victoria have affected the air quality in Melbourne

Bushfires across Australia have killed at least 28 people and an estimated half a billion animals since September, with more than 10.3m hectares of land destroyed and air quality in some areas reaching dangerous levels at various points.

Australian Open qualifying was delayed by an hour on Tuesday and practice was temporarily suspended because of the air quality, while Slovenian player Dalila Jakupovic retired from her qualifier, saying she was "really scared" she was going to collapse because of the "unhealthy" air.

Play was then delayed by three hours on Wednesday because of the air quality before being cancelled for the day because of rain.

Tournament organisers said last week that matches could be suspended after Melbourne's air quality reached "very unhealthy" levels.

However, they were also confident the tournament would not be disrupted by the crisis.

"We don't expect any delays and we've implemented additional measures to ensure the Australian Open will be able to run as scheduled," tournament director Craig Tiley said.

"As always, the health and safety of our players, along with our staff and our fans, is a priority, and we've committed substantial extra resources to analysis, monitoring and logistics to ensure this throughout the tournament."
Court's milestone being 'recognised' rather than 'celebrated'

While Williams seeks to match Court's Grand Slam singles record, the 77-year-old Australian will be marking one of her other milestones - the 50th anniversary of her 1970 sweep of all four of the majors.

Court's opposition to same-sex marriage and her view that transgender children are the work of "the devil" have made her a controversial figure and Tennis Australia has said it plans to "recognise" her as a champion rather than "celebrate" her as a hero.

The governing body has so far been vague on the details of what it is planning for Court, who is now a Christian pastor.

Grand Slam winners Martina Navratilova and Billie Jean King are among those who have called for the Margaret Court Arena at Melbourne Park to be re-named because of her views and the issue could come up again with the Australian invited to participate in a "significant programme of events".

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How to get into tennis - it's fun, will keep you fit and caters for all levels and abilities. Find your nearest court and learn the basics with our guide.
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