Davis Cup heroes bound for Nottingham event

The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has announced that British Davis Cup trio Kyle Edmund, Dan Evans and James Ward have entered the Aegon Open Nottingham men's event.

Both Ward and Edmund featured in the ATP World Tour 250 tournament in Nottingham last year, while Evans – who has often played and trained at the Nottingham Tennis Centre - will be making his debut in June.

British No. 4 Evans, 25, along with Andy Murray, played singles for the Aegon GB Davis Cup Team as they began their title defence with victory over Japan in the World Group first round in Birmingham last week.

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Edmund, the 21-year-old World No. 82, played in the triumphant final of the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas against Belgium in Ghent last November, with Great Britain lifting the trophy for the first time in 79 years.

Ward, 29, also played an influential part of last year’s victory, producing a superb comeback win from two sets down against John Isner of the United States to eventually prevail 15-13 in a thrilling final set of their first round tie in Glasgow.

Aegon GB Davis Cup Team captain Leon Smith said: “Nottingham offers a great chance for a number of the Davis Cup players to hone their grass-court game on excellent courts the week before they play at Wimbledon. I also look forward to coming up to the tournament where I know the entry list will again be strong and very competitive.”

The Aegon Open Nottingham comprises of two tournaments in June, starting with the women’s WTA International, running from the 4th to the 12th, and the men’s ATP 250 World Tour event, staged between the 18th and 25th - the week preceding The Championships, Wimbledon. Tickets for the events are now on sale at www.lta.org.uk/major-events/aegon-open-nottingham/

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Edmund, who moved into the world’s top 100 after last year’s Aegon Open Nottingham, said: “I’m really looking forward to playing the Aegon Open in Nottingham again this year. It’s a great opportunity to get some tough grass court matches in before Wimbledon and so much fun being able to play in front of a home crowd.”

Ward, who won his fourth ATP Challenger title in October last year, said: “I always like playing in Nottingham, it has become a big part of my Wimbledon preparations over the years and now with three weeks of grass court events before the Championships, the added opportunity of coming up against some of the world’s best on grass in the East Midlands is even more enticing.”

Evans said: “As I spend so much time training at the Nottingham Tennis Centre I look forward to playing the men’s ATP event. Often, players do particularly well at the place that they train, so I am hopeful of some good results at the tournament.”

Paul Hutchins, the Aegon Open Nottingham (ATP) Tournament Director, said: “We will again have a very strong international contingent of highly ranked players at the Aegon Open Nottingham and that is made even better by welcoming a number of the British Davis Cup team to the tournament. I, like so many, look forward to James, Kyle and Dan again playing on the great grass courts at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.”

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Tara McGregor-Woodhams, Head of Brand and Sponsorship Aegon UK, commented: “It’s great to see such a strong showing from the Aegon GB Davis Cup Team. Nottingham is increasingly a big attraction for elite players looking to sharpen their grass-court game in the run up to Wimbledon. With confidence running high after the epic Davis Cup win, the trio are guaranteed an enthusiastic and vocal support to cheer them on.”

Last year, Denis Istomin clinched his first ever ATP World Tour title at the Aegon Open Nottingham. The Uzbekistani beat big-serving American Sam Querrey in the final and a world-class field that included world No. 8 David Ferrer, grass-court specialist Feliciano Lopez and former Wimbledon semi-finalist Marcos Baghdatis.

Tickets to the Aegon Open Nottingham events are now on general sale. Tickets start from just £5 for an adult and £5 for a child.

For more information and to purchase tickets please visit http://www.lta.org.uk/major-events/aegon-open-nottingham

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