The Eastbourne tournament has never been blessed with top ATP stars before. This year Devonshire Park will witness the presence of 12-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic; super athlete and out and out entertainer Gael Monfils; and graceful player Richard Gasquet. They may be big-name players but it doesn’t guarantee them the title. The draw is also loaded with big hitters – on grass they can all prove to be dangerous. The fact that there is no clear-cut favorite adds to the tournament’s intrigue.
The competition in the 28-player main draw begins on Monday, June 26.
Event Details
Event: Aegon International Eastbourne
Category: ATP 250 Series
Date: June 26 – July 1, 2017
Location: Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club – Eastbourne, England
With a prize money allotment of just over 635,000 Euros, this is a tournament is tens of thousands of Euros richer in prize money than some other offerings at the ATP 250 level. That point aside, the main value of the event is its place as prime preparation for Wimbledon one week later.
Points
Champion – 250
Runner-up – 150
Semifinal – 90
Quarterfinal – 45
Former Champions and Results
Year Champion Runner-up Score
The event was not held in 2015 or 2016’
2014: Feliciano Lopez def. Richard Gasquet 6-3, 6-7(5-7), 7-5
2013: Feliciano Lopez def. 7-6(7-2), 6-7(5-7), 6-0.
2012: Andy Roddick def. Andreas Seppi 6-3, 6-2
2011: Andreas Seppi def. Janko Tipsarevic 7-6(7-5), 3-6, 5-3 retired
2010: Michael Llodra def. Guillermo Garcia Lopez 7-5, 6-2
Player Info:
You don’t see Novak Djokovic playing grass tourneys prior to Wimbledon. This year he’ll break that ritual. For the first time in seven years, Djokovic will arrive at the SW19 having played in a warm-up event the week before.
He goes to Eastbourne as the top seed and with a hope to find form ahead of Wimbledon. Djokovic has not played since crashing out of the French Open quarterfinals earlier this month. The Serb has dropped to No. 4 in the world after experiencing a tumultuous season which has seen him triumph at only one tournament.
He is vulnerable at the start against big servers, and he’ll find plenty of them in Eastbourne. Djokovic has mastered the art of survival but it won’t be easy this time.
Gael Monfils went down to compatriot Richard Gasquet in the first round in Halle. It wasn’t a surprise to see Monfils accepting the wild card for Eastbourne. Monfils claimed the first set in Germany but Gasquet fought back to win against his good friend. Monfils has struggled on grass over the years.
Luxembourg’s Gilles Muller, at 34 years of age, is having a career defining season. Muller edged ace monster Ivo Karlovic in The Netherlands on Sunday to claim the title in Hertogenbosch with the oldest combined age for two players in an ATP final since 1976.
Muller sent down 22 aces to Karlovic’s 19. The final was decided in two tiebreakers, where Muller came on top against the 38-year-old Karlovic in a showdown of two of the game’s biggest servers.
It was the oldest men’s singles final since Ken Rosewall (42) and Ilie Nastase (30) contested one in 1976.
Muller is going great guns at Queens too, where he comprehensively defeated world No. 10 Jo-Wilfred Tsonga in the second round and has made another grass-court semifinal. With the form that Muller is in, he’s going to be a man to beat in Eastbourne.
Also here are Mischa Zverev and Richard Gasquet. Both are different from each other but have had success on grass. The older Zverev is in solid form. Gasquet, meanwhile, is playing himself back in form after he retired midway through the French Open (third round) due to a thigh injury. The Frenchman has so far beat Monfils and Bernard Tomic in the ongoing ATP 500 tournament in Halle and is in the semifinals there.
The top seeds will be wary of three tricky Americans in the draw: John Isner, Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey. All are big servers and possess the capability to upset anyone on grass.
Devonshire Park Lawn Tennis Club
The stadium court contains 8,000 seats in a familiar and storied facility that is part of the history of British tennis. This is also the stadium court at what became a dual-gender event within the past decade. Eastbourne has carved out a noticeable presence on the tennis calendar.
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