World No.4 Novak Djokovic has confirmed that he will play Eastbourne as his warm-up for the Wimbledon Championships.
In recent years the Serbian has opted to to not play man pre-Wimbledon tournaments in recent year, and does not feature in the draws for Halle or Queens this year. Djokovic has in the past instead chosen to play a number of exhibitions at places including the Hurlingham Club as part of his Wimbledon preparations.
Djokovic’s ranking is at it’s lowest since October 2010. Djokovic will be looking towards Wimbledon to reclaim form that has been absent since he won Roland Garros for the first time last year. He lost to Sam Querrey in the third round of Wimbledon last year, so has relatively few points to defend. Djokovic is working with new coach Andre Agassi.
Djokovic is the top seed as things stand, and due to his late decision to play requires a wildcard for the main draw. He is joined in this regard by Gael Monfils, who is set to be the second seed. Americans Steve Johnson, John Isner, and Sam Querrey are also due to take part. There is also grass nous from the likes of Gilles Muller and Nicolas Mahut.
Britain’s Kyle Edmund and Aljaz Bedene are scheduled to take part though there are doubts about Bedene’s participation after he was forced to withdraw from Queen’s following a scan on his injured wrist.
