London, Jan 15 (IANS): British former world No.1 Andy Murray has tested positive for Covid-19 ahead of his trip to Australia for the Australian Open, British media reported on Thursday.

Murray, 33, planned to take a chartered flight to Melbourne this week as the five-time Australian Open runner-up received a wildcard for this year's tournament, according to BBC Sport. He is now in quarantine and isolating at home in London.

"Unfortunately this means he will be unable to join the official AO charter flights arriving in Australia in the coming days to go through the quarantine period with the other players. The AO fans love Andy, and we know how much he loves competing here in Melbourne and how hard he'd worked for this opportunity," said the Australian Open in a statement on Thursday.

Despite of the positive result, Murray is still hopeful to make his journey on a later date before the main stage of the Australian Open is unveiled on February 8.

Due to a lingering pelvic injury, Murray missed several competitions in the past two years and the former world number one is placed 123rd in the latest ATP world ranking.

The two-time Grand Slam winner pulled out of last week's ATP event in Delray Beach as he wanted to "minimise the risks" of catching a transatlantic flight to Florida.