The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has confirmed today that fan’s favourite and 2015 Aegon Open semi-finalist Marcos Baghdatis will be returning to Nottingham for the pre-Wimbledon grass court tennis tournament in June.
Baghdatis will be joined in the main draw by hard-hitting Spaniard and former World No. 7 Fernando Verdasco, who is also returning to the city. His last appearance in 2008 saw him reach the final where when he fell to the big serving Croatian Ivo Karlovic in a gruelling three-set final.
World No. 38 Baghdatis, who last year was forced to retire injured in the last four against eventual champion Denis Istomin, will be featuring at the Nottingham Tennis Centre for the third successive year, having won the Aegon Trophy Challenger event in 2014.
Baghdatis is a familiar face at the venue and has produced some of the most exciting grass-court tennis in the city in recent years. The former Wimbledon semi-finalist and 2006 Australian Open runner up is again assured to be embraced as a local favourite for the tournament.
Confirmation of Baghdatis’ return and the addition of last year’s finalist Sam Querrey to the line-up means the top four performers in Nottingham 12 months ago will again be in the field.
Speaking on the announcement, Baghdatis said: “I look forward to returning to Nottingham this year. I have played at the tennis centre several times over the last few years and I always enjoy the city and the support I get from the spectators. As it does every year, the tournament has a strong field with every player, just like myself, wanting to do well before playing at Wimbledon the week after. It should be a great week and I look forward to getting out there again this year.”
The Aegon Open Nottingham (ATP) Tournament Director, Paul Hutchins, said: “Marcos is a very popular player in Nottingham, who has thrilled the crowds and enjoyed some great results, and we are delighted to welcome him back. And when we talk about players returning, there is something special about having Fernando Verdasco in the line-up eight years after he was last at the Nottingham Tennis Centre providing great entertainment. An exciting field will assemble for the Aegon Open, which is going to produce fierce competition and some enthralling challenges for players ahead of Wimbledon.”
Tara McGregor-Woodhams, Head of Brand and Sponsorship Aegon UK, commented: “The Aegon Open Nottingham was a fantastic addition to the grass court calendar last year and we are delighted to welcome many stars from the ATP World Tour to the city as part of their grass court preparations.”
The Aegon Open Nottingham will see two tournaments take place in June, the men’s ATP event taking place from 18-25 June 2016, and the women’s WTA event being staged from 4-12 June 2016. Both tournaments will be an integral part of the British grass-court season, which features 11 international grass-court tournaments in eight venues across the country.
Fans can watch action at the Aegon Open Nottingham for as little as £5. Visit the website for more details.
Aegon Open Nottingham main-draw line-up
Kevin Anderson (RSA) 19; Marcos Baghdatis (CYP) 38, Thomaz Bellucci (BRA) 37; Julien Benneteau (FRA) 39; Ricardas Berankis (LTU) 54, Pablo Carreno Busta (ESP) 43; Inigo Cervantes (ESP) 65, Pablo Cuevas (URG) 25; Federico Delbonis (ARG) 33; Ivan Dodig (CRO) 78; Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) 28; Damir Dzumhur (BIH) 75; Taylor Fritz (USA) 73; Teymuraz Gabashvili (RUS) 60; Marcel Granollers (ESP) 58; Denis Istomin (UZB) 64; Malek Jaziri (TUN) 68; Steve Johnson (USA) 34; Denis Kudla (USA) 56; Paolo Lorenzi (ITA) 53; Adrian Mannarino (FRA) 72; Illya Marchenko (UKR) 67; Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 66; Leonardo Mayer (ARG) 49; John Millman (AUS) 62; Gilles Muller (LUX) 40; Guido Pella (ARG) 50; Vasek Pospisil (CAN) 46; Sam Querrey (USA) 36; Rajeev Ram (USA) 77; Lukas Rosol (CZE) 71; Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 61; Dudi Sela (ISR) 63; Andreas Seppi (ITA) 42; Joao Sousa (POR) 30; Fernando Verdasco (ESP) 55; Jiri Vesely (CZE) 59; Mikhail Youzhny (RUS) 76; Kyle Edmund (GBR) 82; Dan Evans (GBR) 86; James Ward (GBR) 176.