The world No.24 Alexandr Dolgopolov and British No.2 James Ward have both been awarded wild cards into the Aegon Championships, which takes place 10th-16th June at The Queen’s Club in London.
Dolgopolov and Ward will join Andy Murray, Jo Wilfried Tsonga, Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin del Potro in a line-up that also features Lleyton Hewitt, Grigor Dimitrov and the defending champion, Marin Cilic.
Dolgopolov, who beats his opponents with an attractive blend of spins and speed around the court, reached a career-high ranking of No.13 last year, winning a title in Washington DC and reaching finals in Brisbane and Valencia. It will be his debut appearance at the Aegon Championships.
Ward reached the Aegon Championships semi-finals in 2011, beating the 2010 champion Sam Querrey, and Stanislas Wawrinka along the way. The 26-year-old helped the Aegon GB Davis Cup team to victory over Russia recently, fighting back from 2-1 down to beat Dmitry Tursunov in five sets.
“Alexandr Dolgopolov is a magician on the tennis court and we are delighted to award him with a wild card so that he can play at the Aegon Championships for the first time,” said Tournament Director, Chris Kermode.
“James Ward made a huge impression on the crowd in reaching the semifinals in 2011, and his performance in Davis Cup recently was heroic. The Head of Men’s Tennis in Britain, Leon Smith, had no hesitation in recommending James for a wild card and we look forward to welcoming him back in June."
The Aegon Championships will award three more wild cards before the event begins.
Murray and Berdych are already scheduled to be in action on finals day. Murray will team up with Tim Henman against Berdych and Ivan Lendl in Rally Against Cancer - an all-star doubles exhibition to raise money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. The charity supports The Royal Marsden, the world-leading cancer centre treating British tennis player Ross Hutchins.
Donations can be made by going to: http://www.justgiving.com/RallyAgainstCancer2013
The 2013 Aegon Championships is one of four ATP & WTA grass court tournaments staged and run by the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) in the run up to The Championships, Wimbledon, and will be the next opportunity for fans to see Murray in action on British soil.
The Aegon Championships will be broadcast live, every day from 10th-16th June, on BBC Television and Eurosport.