Australian Open goes behind closed doors as lockdown for Melbourne announced

Spectators watch third round matches at the Australian Open tennis championship in Melbourne (Hamish Blair/AP)

Australia’s second-largest city will begin its third lockdown on Friday due to a rapidly spreading Covid-19 cluster centred on hotel quarantine.

The five-day lockdown will be enforced in Melbourne and across Victoria state to prevent the virus spreading from the state capital, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said.