In this Sept 27, 2020 photo, Britain's Andy Murray returns the ball to Switzerland's Stanislas Wawrinka during their men's singles first round tennis match on Day 1 of The Roland Garros 2020 French Open tennis tournament in Paris. (ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP)

ROME - Former world number one Andy Murray will compete in a challenger tournament in Biella next month following his Australian Open withdrawal, the Italian Tennis Federation confirmed on Wednesday.

The indoor tournament in Biella, which begins on Feb 15, will mark Andy Murray’s first appearance at a challenger event since competing in Mallorca in Aug 2019

Three-time Grand Slam winner Murray was forced to pull out of the first major of 2021 in Melbourne after he was unable to find what he called a ‘workable quarantine’ following a positive COVID-19 test on Jan 14.

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The indoor tournament in Biella, which begins on Feb 15 and has 132,000 euros (US$159,918) of prize money, will mark the 33-year-old’s first appearance at a challenger event since competing in Mallorca in August 2019.

Murray, now ranked 123 in the world after battling his way back from two hip operations, could face the likes of world number 54 Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and number 74 Lucas Pouille.