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On Sunday night, a third plane with a positive COVID-19 test reportedly arrived in Melbourne as players continued to complain about the conditions in quarantine.

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But Spanish tennis website Punto de Break reported that Djokovic had called for Tiley to support the players who are being forced into the stricter quarantines.

Neither have confirmed the letter but journalist Fernando Murciego reported six proposals including:

— Fitness and training material in all rooms

— Decent food for elite athletes, following players taking aim at the meals on offer

— Reduce the days of isolation for players in hard isolation and carry out more tests to confirm they are negative

— Permission to visit your coach or physical trainer, as long as both have passed the tests

— Grant both the player and his coach to be on the same floor of the hotel

— Move as many players as possible to private houses with a tennis court to facilitate training

Djokovic was the former president of the ATP Player Council but resigned to help set up the PTPA (Professional Tennis Players Association).

As the proposals began to circulate, social media was quick to remind the world that Djokovic had tested positive for COVID-19 in June after organising the Adria Tour, a tennis exhibition series in Serbia and Croatia.

It comes a day after Austrian World No. 42 doubles player Philipp Oswald, who is one of the players in hard quarantine, called out Djokovic and other players who landed in Adelaide instead of Melbourne for an exhibition tournament.

Tennisnet.com reported a Q&A where Oswald called out the tournament double standards as it was revealed on January 9 that a curtain raiser to the summer of tennis called A Day at the Drive was to be held in Adelaide on Friday January 29.

It will feature players including Serena Williams, Rafael Nadal, Dominic Thiem, Simona Halep, Naomi Osaka and Djokovic, as well as two other players.

“Conditions are much better in Adelaide,” the Q&A with Oswald said. “First, players were allowed to take a lot more staff with them. Medvedev and Zverev, for example, were only allowed to take two people with them, while Thiem, Nadal and Djokovic each came with ten people (exaggeration, note).

“They also have a gym in their hotel. So they don’t have to do their fitness exercises during the five-hour period. You only have the five hours to play tennis. There was a huge discussion and the other players were also upset.

“It was then that Djokovic could understand that and wanted to be in Melbourne like the other players. One day later it was said that everything was already organised for him in Adelaide. It’s not apples and apples here, but apples and pears – and I caught the sour lemon.”

Similarly, Italian tennis journalist Luca Fiorino reported that World No. 3 women’s player Naomi Osaka deleted a photo that caused a stink with players “not very happy for the unequal treatment in relation to big players in Adelaide”.

While there have now been three flights with players forced into quarantine in Melbourne, the Australian Open Twitter page wrote on Saturday night that “SA Health has confirmed that there is no one who has an active COVID-19 infection in the entire tennis cohort based in Adelaide. Testing will continue on a daily basis.”

However, for the tennis stars in the hard quarantine, tennis journalism Jose Morgado reported there could be a bright side with a quarter of the Australian Open field set to be in a 14 day quarantine, as the organisers are reportedly scrambling to create “a bubble inside the bubble” to facilitate practice.

This has been one of the issues players have been most intensely furious about.

Back in the A-League with Adelaide United after five years of mixed fortunes in Europe, Juric admits feeling so comfortable doesn’t sit easy with him.

And with good reason. At 29, Juric is at the crossroads.

After a tough couple of years in Bulgaria, the former Western Sydney Wanderers marksman has come home to rekindle his career at club and national team levels, with Juric not having played for the Socceroos since November 2018.

It’s why he can’t afford to drop into cruise mode while enjoying Adelaide’s laid-back and stress-free lifestyle.

“I don’t like getting too comfortable, to be honest,” Juric said.

“Staying in that comfort zone doesn’t make things more difficult and make you get out of your comfort zone and improve.

“I keep trying to think and prepare as best as I can, don’t let my guard down and make sure I’m kicking on each session and making sure I put in the hard yards each session.”

Despite his concern with becoming complacent in Adelaide. Juric can’t think of a better place than the South Australian capital to kickstart a career that has also included spells in Croatia, the Netherland and Switzerland.

“Coming back to Australia and trying to refocus myself and get everything right to get back into the football swing of things, Adelaide was just the right choice,” the Sydney product said.

“In Sydney if you’ve got to go somewhere half an hour away you have to leave half and hour earlier again.

“I do prefer the lifestyle of Adelaide because I don’t spend half my day in a car. It’s so easy and so simple to get around.

“It’s really hard to be late if you’re going somewhere.”

“Somewhere” includes Coopers Stadium, United’s home ground where Juric earlier this month scored his first A-League goal since April 2015 in the Reds’ 2-0 win over Melbourne City.

Juric’s relief and joy was obvious after he found the back of net, and was further vindication for his decision to come home after a forgettable stint with famous Bulgarian club CSKA Sofia.

“As a footballer you want to play as many games as possible, so when that’s not happening you seek other opportunities,” said Juric, who in two seasons with the Sofia club made just 11 appearances in all competitions and scored only one goal.

“Maybe I was a little bit too patient in my time there but with everything that happened with COVID and all the uncertainty with the A-League and what was happening here, coming home wasn’t an option at certain stages, but things changed.

“I enjoyed the lifestyle in Bulgaria because it’s quite similar to Croatia, where I have family and where I spent a lot of my time while I was in Europe, but football wise, not playing minutes makes you step back and really assess what’s important as a footballer.

“It was quite disappointing. The chat I had with the club before I joined (from Swiss team Luzern) was really promising. A lot of things they said was what I wanted to hear as a player, but unfortunately none of those things really eventuated.

“It made things a lot more difficult for me but that page and chapter is closed now and a new one is upon me.”

Juric’s second “chapter” with Adelaide United after a short stint with the Reds in 2013 has the added bonus of being coached by former Socceroos striker Carl Veart.

“Carl understands the attacking side of the game and for me right now the best thing I can get out of a coach is someone who can direct you sometimes when you’re a little bit off your game, someone to push you in the right direction,” he said.

“This is the time that I need it the most. I think he’ll do a whole lot of good for me personally and for team as well.”

Another former Socceroos forward who could give Juric some guidance is national team coach Graham Arnold.

Juric said he was yet to hear from Arnold since signing with the Reds in November.

“Everyone’s just going about their jobs. I’m not here to wait on a call from anybody,” said the 2015 Asian Cup winner and the scorer of eight goals in 41 Socceroos appearances.

“I’m just doing my thing and I’m sure everything else will come into place if that’s what it takes.

“Fingers crossed. It’s just up to me to keep doing what I’m doing here in Adelaide.

“The most important thing for me is to do my job here and hopefully everything comes together and we’ll see how things eventuate.

“My main focus is to do well with Adelaide and enjoy it because I haven’t done it for such a long time.”

It was mid-April, a month after the grand final series between Perth and Sydney was cut short after the Kings pulled out due to COVID-19 concerns.

The NBL gave players the option to opt out of their deals, with many big names like two-time MVP Bryce Cotton and championship-winner Casper Ware taking up the offer to test the open market.

At this point, Loeliger and his team at the NBL couldn’t help but fear the worst.

“Absolutely there was a time when we thought maybe the only viable prospect was to cancel the season,” Loeliger said.

“That was early on when we had those initial discussions.”

Loeliger also knew that the league couldn’t afford to stop.

The NBL doesn’t have a big broadcast deal like the NRL or AFL and rely on its fans and clubs for revenue.

Cancelling a season could have disastrous ramifications, so the NBL were determined to push on and approached the clubs with a message of hope and resilience.

“And very quickly everyone in clubland said no we can’t stop, it is important that we maintain the momentum that the NBL has developed over the past five seasons,” he said.

“We’ve all developed so many man hours and so much blood, sweat and tears that we can’t let this beat us and we’ve got to find a way.”

To reach this point the league and its teams have made significant sacrifices.

A major one is players taking pay cuts to ensure the NBL can operate in a coronavirus impacted environment.

Loeliger praised the players for their understanding, which has resulted in the likes of Ware and Cotton recommitting to the league after originally opting out of their deals.

“We’ve got a really supporting playing group and cohort of teams that has allowed us to renegotiate payment arrangements,” he said.

“They have been particularly cooperative and collegiate in terms of navigating those conversations.

“We felt that we did the right thing by giving players the opportunity to opt out, acknowledging that this is a situation we’ve never seen before and we wanted to give the players the ability to explore options in low-risk areas.

“But the way things panned out, most people in world basketball recognise that Australia is the safest location to be playing professional basketball.

“As a result, basically everyone under contract has returned to the league, which is just fantastic.”

On the floor, Melbourne United look strong after signing Boomers big man Jock Landale, but all the teams that missed out on last year’s finals have recruited strongly, headed by the Hawks who have signed two ex-Australian NBA players in Deng Adel and Cameron Bairstow, and the biggest signing – the NBL’s most successful coach Brian Goorjian.

The NBL is also a legitimate breeding ground for the NBA as seen through LaMelo Ball being picked at No. 3 in the draft by Michael Jordan’s Charlotte Hornets and Brisbane big man Will Magnay picking up a two-way deal with the New Orleans Pelicans.

Many ex-NBL players and coaches have also made the move to the NBA, headlined by Sydney’s Jae’Sean Tate and Will Weaver at the Houston Rockets as a player and assistant coach respectively.

Loeliger doesn’t like the NBL to lose top-shelf talent, but sees the positive of players being picked up by the world’s best league.

“You are never happy to lose players, but if you are going to, then that is the best way you want it to happen because they are going on to bigger and better things,” he said.

And while one door closes, another door opens with a wave of rising Australians joining the NBL like Jack White (United), Keanu Pinder (36ers), Dejan Vasiljevic (Kings) and Josh Giddey (36ers).

“I think not just Australians, but the world are really going to pay attention to the next class of Australian NBA contenders,” Loeliger said.

Murray was expected to travel to Australia on a series of charter flights that tournament organisers were going to use to ensure the safety of players.

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But the 33-year-old will instead isolate at home in London with hopes of arriving in Australia at a later date to compete in the tournament.

Britain’s Press Association news agency said Murray is in good health.

More than 1,200 players and support staff are arriving in Australia from Thursday for 14 days’ quarantine ahead of the delayed tournament, which is due to start on February 8.

Craig Tiley, the Australian Open tournament director, has spent months trying to deal with the logistical nightmares of hosting the Grand Slam during a pandemic.

Tennis Australia said players were only allowed into Australia with proof of a negative COVID-19 test prior to departure, or with approval as a recovered case at the discretion of the Australian government.

Murray received a wild card to the main draw in December with Tilley saying the tournament would welcome him back “with open arms”.

“As a five-time finalist he has been an integral part of so many amazing matches and storylines in the recent history of the Australian Open,” he said at the time.

“His retirement was an emotional moment and seeing him come back, having undergone major surgery and built himself back up to get onto the tour again, will be a highlight of AO 2021.

“We wish him all the best and look forward to seeing him in 2021.”

But the news will throw a spanner into the works as Murray tries to return to his best after needing hip resurfacing surgery in 2019.

It came after an emotional press conference where Murray said the 2019 tournament could have been his last.

“Not great,” he said before excusing himself and leaving the interview room.

When he returned, the dual Wimbledon champion and US Open winner said: “So I’m not feeling great.

“Been struggling for a long time, I’ve been in a lot of pain for probably about 20 months.

“I’ve pretty much done everything I could get my hip feeling better.”

He appeared to say he would retire after Wimbledon that season but after his surgery was successful, Murray was on the comeback trail, even winning the European Open crown late in 2019.

A pelvic injury forced him out of the 2020 Australian Open however with Murray taking until June to return after the COVID ravaged season took its toll.

The tournament hasn’t been without it issues either with Roger Federer and American John Isner both pulled out of the tournament.

Early on Thursday Australian Open quarter-finalist Tennys Sandgren being given permission to travel to Australia despite testing positive for COVID but being deemed not contageous.

Sandgren had COVID in November but tested positive again this week.

On Thursday AEDT, the 29-year-old American suggested he had not been allowed to board the chartered flight to Australia from Los Angeles.

“At least I get to keep my points,” he posted to Twitter.

The reason he was allowed to board the plane was that a Tennis Australia spokesperson explained that a non-infectious person who has fully-recovered from COVID-19 could continue to shed the virus for several months.

“Vic government public health experts assess each case based on additional detailed medical records to ensure they are not infectious before checking in to the charter flights,” the spokesperson said.

— with AFP

The defending champions comfortably chased the 129-run target with eight balls to spare in the rain-affected fixture in the nation’s capital.

While the rest of Sixers top order crumbled, Philippe hammered 64 off 36 in an explosive knock which featured seven boundaries and two sixes.

The wicketkeeper brought up his half-century in just 24 balls and brutally plundered 23 runs off tweaker Jonathan Cook’s only over of the match.

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“He’s a superstar,” Sixers veteran Steve O’Keefe said on Channel 7.

“We see it week in and week out with him. I think he’s already the franchise’s best opening batsman.

“He plays shots you wouldn’t even dream about.”

During the run chase, Philippe leapfrogged Thunder rival Alex Hales to become the tournament’s highest run-scorer with 337 runs in 10 innings.

The 23-year-old is slowly cementing himself as one of Australian cricket’s most promising prospects, and has already drawn comparisons to a young Steve Smith.

Philippe featured in Australia’s one-day squad for last year’s tour to England, but is yet to make his international debut.

Former Test wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist called for the West Australian to get an opportunity in Australian colours last year.

“Very exciting young talent, still learning his craft, about himself and what his capabilities are, and of course match situations,” Gilchrist said in September.

“But the quicker you get them exposed to the top level, with that uninhibited approach he can maybe catch a few teams off guard — that’s only going to instil more confidence in him to not suddenly have to think he’s got to rein it in because he’s at the next level.”

MOST RUNS IN BBL10

Josh Philippe (SIX) — 337 runs @ 33.70

Alex Hales (THU) — 323 runs @ 32.30

Ben McDermott (HUR) — 301 runs @ 43.00

Alex Carey (STR) — 279 runs @ 34.87

Marcus Stoinis (STA) — 227 runs @ 39.57

READ MORE: Final nail in Smith’s captaincy coffin

Meanwhile, O’Keefe claimed career-best figures of 3/15 off four overs to rattle the Thunder top order, removing English internationals Sam Billings and Hales in one damaging over.

The 36-year-old is currently the Sixers’ highest wicket-taker for the season, with 13 scalps in nine matches.

“I bowled a fraction slower than I normally would, and tonight I got the rewards,” O’Keefe said.

“We’re taking wickets throughout the middle, which certainly puts us in good stead when we come to the back-end of the innings.”

The Sixers will return to Manuka Oval to face the Perth Scorchers on Saturday, while the Thunder will take on the Hobart Hurricanes at the same venue on Monday.

Arok coached the Socceroos in 48 matches from 1983 to 1989, and also guided the fortunes of South Melbourne, Gippsland Falcons and Sydney Olympic in the old National Soccer League.

His death, came eight days shy of his 89th birthday, was announced on the Socceroos official Twitter account on Tuesday night.

“We are deeply saddened by the news that former @Socceroos coach, Frank Arok, passed away today. Football Australia would like to extend its condolences to Frank’s family, friends and loved ones. His profound impact on Australian football will never be forgotten. Vale,” @Socceroos tweeted.

Of Hungarian descent. Arok was born in 1932 in the then Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

He moved to Australia in the 1960s, and coached St George Saints from 1969 to 1972.

Arok was appointed Socceroos coach in 1983, replacing Les Scheinflug.

He was in charge of the Australian team that reached the quarter-finals of the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games football tournament.

However, the Socceroos twice failed to qualify for World Cups (1986 and 1990) during his coaching tenure.

Arok was made a Member of the Order of Australia in 1990 for his services to Australian football.

Socceroos great and another former national coach Frank Farina tweeted: “Frank Arok. My first boss with the #Socceroos in 1984 when I was 19. My condolences to his family. #RIP ‘Chewie’.”.

Perth Glory, who employed Arok as their youth coach from 2001 to 2003, tweeted: “On behalf of everyone associated with Perth Glory, we would like to send our sincere condolences to the family and friends of our former youth coach and ex-@Socceroos Head Coach, Frank Arok AM who has passed away at the age of 88.

Former Socceroos winger Robbie Slater, who won an English Premier League title with Blackburn Rovers, described Arok as “the man that discovered and made me”.

“Thank you! A true legend! @Socceroos,” Slater tweeted.

Ex-Socceroos goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer tweeted: “Very sad to hear about the passing of Frank Arok. Your knowledge, passion and dedication of the game was infectious. The 2 years I had the privilege to work with you @clubmarconi1958 were some of my most enjoyable times in football. R.I.P #aussielegend #soccerooslegend #NSL”.

Former Socceroos striker Scott Ollerenshaw tweeted: “RIP Frank Arok … my coach, my mentor … will always be extremely grateful for the opportunities you gave me … some great memories including the night we beat Argentina 4-1 … your pre match talk was so inspiring … rest well Frank.”

The Stars could barely get going, falling in a heap at 6/111 with 2.5 overs remaining with some late hitting from Nic Maddinson getting them away.

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But the man the Stars regularly rely on to get them away, Glenn Maxwell, fell to a second straight golden duck, splicing an off-drive to Danny Briggs at gully off Rashid Khan.

As the Afghan star finished up with the Strikers for the season before going on international duty, he once again reminded the BBL of his ability.

But for the Striker’s, Maxwell’s wicket was exactly the plan — at least according to former Australian Test opener Matthew Renshaw.

Speaking to Channel 7’s BBL coverage, he was asked “What plans have you got for The Show?”

“Hopefully get him out with the first ball with a little wrong’un,” Renshaw responded.

Like he willed it into existence, Maxwell was headed straight back to the pavilion.

He wasn’t alone however with Marcus Stoinis the next man out for 47 off 31 balls.

Without the allrounder’s innings, the Stars would have been much worse off.

Mark Waugh was not happy with the Stars’ performance.

“I’ll tell you what it’s been, terrible batting. Bowling OK, batting dreadful. Take away Stoinis, awful,” Waugh said.

Strikers’ Wes Agar went for six runs off his first three overs, while Daniel Worrall went for just four in his first two overs.

Agar ended up with 2/19, while Worrall nabbed 2/28 and Khan got 2/29.

Bizarrely though, the Strikers struggled with the bat as well falling to 3/65 at the end of the first 10 overs to lose the Bash Boost to the Stars.

But Jono Well’s 27-ball 37, and Ryan Gibson’s 22 not out off 13 balls saved the day as the Strikers moved into third spot with the Stars staying in seventh.

Christian plundered an unbeaten 61 not out off 38 balls in an explosive cameo which featured three boundaries and five sixes.

The Sixers needed 17 runs from the final two overs to secure an unlikely win, and Christian smacked all those runs himself.

The winning runs came from a flick through square leg with one run needed off the final ball.

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During the match-winning knock, Christian became the fifth cricketer to achieve the double feat of 5000 runs and 250 wickets in the T20 format, joining Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell and Shakib Al Hasan.

The 37-year-old is suddenly in contention for a spot in Australia’s squad for the T20 World Cup.

“We certainly didn’t want it to get that close, but they bowled really well,” Christian told Channel 7 after the win. “I just had to hang in there.

“It was really nice to contribute to a win tonight and get us back to the top of the table.”

Radio presenter Adam White tweeted: “There’s often commentary around Dan Christian being a valuable member of any T20 team because of his experience. It also can’t be forgotten he’s also simply bloody good. World class role player, genuine match winner.”

READ MORE: Kohli breaks silence on abuse

Sixers captain Daniel Hughes also contributed a crucial 51 off 35 during the run chase.

Afghan tweaker Mujeeb Ur Rahman was the most impressive bowler for the Heat, finishing his four overs with superb figures of 2/16.

Meanwhile, Heat skipper Chris Lynn cracked 56 in the first innings, while West Indies international Carlos Brathwaite claimed his best-ever figures in the BBL, 4/18 off four overs.

The men in pink will next face the Sydney Thunder at Canberra’s Manuka Oval on Wednesday evening.

Having last week pushed the start date of the season back five days and reverted to a rolling and flexible schedule, the NBL have made further changes due to the current Queensland lockdown.

While the season will still start this Friday, the first game of the new campaign will be now be played at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre between the Adelaide 36ers and Melbourne United.

It’s part of a round one scheduled made up entirely of matches in South Australia and Queensland.

Two matches have been scheduled for Saturday, with the Cairns Taipans to host the Sydney Kings, and the Brisbane Bullets to host a yet-to-be confirmed opponent.

The 36ers are also in action at home next Sunday against South East Melbourne Phoenix, with the round to be completed in Cairns on Monday week with a Taipans-Hawks clash.

“The latest changes to the schedule have been made necessary by the developments in Queensland where we currently have five teams – Brisbane Bullets, Cairns Taipans, Melbourne United, Adelaide 36ers and Perth Wildcats,” NBL commissioner Jeremy Loeliger said.

“We will continue to monitor the situation in Brisbane in the hope we can also host a game there in the opening round.

“We will continue to stay flexible and be guided by the relevant state health authorities but our intention is still for all teams to play 14 home games across the season when they are able to do so.”

Bullets CEO Peter McLennan understood the “need to be flexible and able to adapt to schedule changes such as these”.

“First and foremost, Brisbane as a city needs to stay safe and get through this together, giving us every opportunity to host our season opener at Nissan Arena next Saturday afternoon,” McLennan said.

Phoenix CEO Tommy Greer said: “We applaud the NBL on again moving quickly to ensure a start to the season.”

Meanwhile, the Wildcats – who had been due to open the season on Friday – will take no part in round one as they head into quarantine in Perth on their arrival home from Brisbane this weekend after having played pre-season matches against the Bullets.

NBL Round 1: Friday, January 15: Adelaide 36ers v Melbourne United, Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Saturday, January 16: Brisbane Bullets v TBC, Nissan Arena; Cairns Taipans v Sydney Kings, Cairns Pop-Up Arena.

Sunday, January 17: Adelaide 36ers v South East Melbourne Phoenix, Adelaide Entertainment Centre.

Monday, January 18: Cairns Taipans v The Hawks, Cairns Pop-Up Arena.

In the grudge match born from Robinson’s decision to walk out on the Jets just eight months into the job to join the Wanderers, Western Sydney won 2-1 at McDonald Jones Stadium.

In a week where the Jets’ former owner was stripped of his licence and the club placed in the control of a consortium of other clubs, they had more salt poured into their wounds by the

coach who helped turn Newcastle’s fortunes around in the second half of last season.

“There were a few explicit words from the stands,” Robinson admitted.

“I can’t control that, it’s all a bit of fun. There was raw emotion in the game and

it’s part and parcel of sport.

“You want rivalries, you want emotions and you want storylines. I think we got that in one.”

Western Sydney’s win came courtesy of goals in either half and was much needed after an opening round defeat and their aggressive off-season recruiting policy.

Bernie Ibini and James Troisi may have attracted more controversy with their moves, but it was another new arrival to the Wanderers in Ziggy Gordon who put them ahead after seven minutes when he nodded home a Troisi corner.

Western Sydney thought they had doubled the lead before halftime but Nicolai Muller’s superb strike was ruled out via VAR after Simon Cox was offside by the barest of margins in the build-up.

However, they doubled their advantage just before the hour mark when Muller and Cox combined again to tee up Tate Russell, who slammed it home first time with a thunderous strike from the edge of the 18-yard box.

The Jets rallied late and got back into the game courtesy of a Nigel Boogaard header from a free-kick in the 73rd minute.

That would spark a raft of late Newcastle attacks but the Wanderers’ defence was able to stand firm to help seal the first win of the Robinson era.

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BOO BOYS TARGET BERNIE

The treatment Carl Robinson received from the Jets fans was mild but they didn’t miss Bernie Ibini. The former Newcastle attacker was so desperate to leave the club he bought out his own contract and his former fans voiced their anger when he came on as a substitute.

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ANOTHER YOUNG GUN

The story of the season so far has been the emergence of exciting young Australian players, and Western Sydney have unearthed another one in 19-year-old Thomas Aquilina, who was lively all evening down the left.

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YUEL THE MAN

There may not be too much to excite the Newcastle Jets fans at the moment but Valentino Yuel is a contrast to that. The Kenyan born winger loomed as a threat all night and has proved an inspired recruit from Western United.