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Record Australian Open prize money targets early rounds

The Australian Open has increased prize money to record levels for 2017, with the focus on those players beaten in the early rounds of the tournament.

The total prize fund is up 14% on 2016 at 50m Australian dollars (£29.4m), with the singles champions to each receive A$3.7m (£2.2m).

First-round losers will earn A$50,000 (£29,360), up 39%, while prize money across qualifying is up 39%.

The increase is part of a package of measures to try to tackle corruption.

The first Grand Slam tournament of 2017 gets under way in Melbourne on 16 January, with Novak Djokovic and Angelique Kerber defending the singles titles.