World No.15 Milos Raonic will top the men's seedings at the AEGON International in Eastbourne, joining Britain's James Ward and Kyle Edmund as wildcards into the main draw of the tournament which takes place at Devonshire Park from June 15-22.
One of the most exciting prospects on the ATP World Tour, 22-year-old Raonic became just the third Canadian man in the Open Era to reach the fourth round of a Grand Slam at the Australian Open this year.
He won his third-straight San Jose title in February, the first player since Tony Trabert (1953-55) to achieve that feat, facing just one break point in 39 service games over the week-long tournament.
In March he helped Canada reach the Davis Cup semifinals for the first time, winning his singles rubbers against Fabio Fognini and Andreas Seppi to help his team defeat Italy in the quarterfinals.
British No.2 Ward joins Raonic as a wildcard at the Aegon International. Ward achieved a career-high ranking of No.137 in April 2012 and pushed world No.12 Mardy Fish to the wire in an epic five setter in the second round at Wimbledon last year.
Ward represented Great Britain in Davis Cup for the seventh time in April this year, posting a heroic performance to defeat Dimitry Tursunov in a five set thriller that levelled Great Britain's tie against Russia at two rubbers apiece.
This will be Ward's fifth appearance at Devonshire Park, the 26-year-old reaching the quarterfinals of the event in 2010.
“I'm really looking forward to returning to Eastbourne for the Aegon International,” said Ward. “The courts are great and it's a tough field so it's the perfect opportunity to get in some matches ahead of Wimbledon.”
A US Open junior semifinalist in 2011 and junior quarterfinalist at Australian Open 2012, 18-year-old Edmund began competing at senior level in 2012. “This is only my second ATP World Tour event so I'm very excited to be playing against some of the world's top players at Eastbourne,” said Edmund, who became the youngest British player since Andy Murray to win a Futures event when he took the Birmingham, Alabama, title in October last year.
In April this year he was appointed hitting partner to the British team for their tie against Russia and in May he won his second Futures title at Vero Beach Florida without dropping a set, going on to extend his winning run to eight-consecutive matches by reaching the semifinals at Orange Park, Florida, the following week.
Ranked No.444 in the world Edmund sits just two places off his career-high ranking of No.442 achieved on May 20 this year.
A bumper crowd is expected at Devonshire Park this year with the tournament staging a Family Day on Saturday June 15, with free entry to the grounds and unreserved seating on Centre Court and Court One.
Legends Day on Sunday June 16 will feature a quartet of tennis greats competing in a Father’s Day tussle, former British No.1 Greg Rusedski facing off against Mark Philippoussis in singles before teaming up with former world No.1 Lindsay Davenport and two-time Wimbledon doubles champion Rennae Stubbs in a mixed doubles match.
To book tickets visit www.aegoninternational.co.uk/tickets or call 0844 581 3015.
To find a playing partner, local court or coach please visit www.allplaytennis.com