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Serbian star to compete on south coast of England for the first time
World No. 4 Novak Djokovic has accepted a wild card into the Aegon International Eastbourne, which begins on 23 June. It is the first time he has appeared at an ATP World Tour grass-court tournament since the 2010 Aegon Championships.
The three-time former Wimbledon champion will lead the ATP World Tour 250 tournament field, which includes Gael Monfils, John Isner, Steve Johnson and two-time champion Feliciano Lopez.
“This will be my first trip to Eastbourne, I have heard great things about the tournament,” said Djokovic. “I am looking forward to fine tuning my grass court game there ahead of Wimbledon.”
Tournament director Gavin Fletcher said he was delighted to welcome Djokovic to Devonshire Park in Eastbourne. “The quality of the men’s and women’s entries is already incredibly high, and the addition of Novak will take the event to an even higher level,” said Fletcher.
There are still a limited number of Centre Court tickets available on Monday, 26 June and Tuesday, 27 June, with Court 1 and ground passes still available throughout the week. Centre Court tickets are currently sold out from Wednesday, 28 June to Saturday, 1 July.
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Top seed plays opening match on Tuesday
Novak Djokovic hasn’t played an ATP World Tour event on grass leading into Wimbledon since 2010, but he’s ready to try something new in hopes of a big run at the Aegon International in Eastbourne.
After more than a decade at the top of the sport, Djokovic’s tournament schedule has reflected that of a man who thrives on routine and familiarity. But in his first visit to Eastbourne, the Serbian has already been enjoying the tournament amenities and charm of this seaside town.
“It's great to visit a new place and be part of a new event. We more or less have the same schedule each year, so I don't get to experience that too often,” said Djokovic. “There are a lot of matches and a lot of people coming out to watch and support the players. You can feel the appreciation for tennis that they have here. They love this event, so it's obviously a pleasure to be here.”
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Comparatively short on match play compared to recent seasons, Djokovic took a late wild card and believes the on-court time this week can only benefit him. The World No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, who plays qualifier Vasek Pospisil in his opening round, has never won a grass-court event outside of Wimbledon. He reached the Queen’s Club final in 2008 (l. Nadal) and Halle in 2009 (l.Haas).
"I was fortunate to have lots of matches and lots of success in the first part of the year over the years, especially on the clay courts and always reaching the final stages of Roland Garros. And because of the old schedule, we had a week less (on grass), which was a bit challenging obviously coming from the slowest to the fastest surface in the sport. It's a big shift in only a few days,” said Djokovic. “I knew I wanted to play one this year, but thought Queen's and Halle would be too early for me. That's the reason why I came to Eastbourne. And it's a new place, so it does give me that extra motivation to be here."
Djokovic won’t have Andre Agassi in his camp for Eastbourne, but the 1992 Wimbledon champion will be with him at SW19 for as long as he remains in the tournament. The Serbian believes they got off to a positive start in their coaching arrangement for Roland Garros and is eager to see it continue.
“The eight or nine days that we spent together at Roland Garros were very valuable for me to get to know him and learn from him. We shared a lot of experiences on and off the court. Having him around is not only great for myself, but also for tennis,” said Djokovic. “I can see how much he cares about the game and how much he knows it. It was very interesting to hear his perspective on tennis before and now, how he analyses my game and what he sees with things to improve moving forward. I'm just looking forward to spending as much quality time with Andre as I can.”

Novak Djokovic comes back to compete after a three week-break, and he does it for the first time in Eastbourne, where he never played. The World No. 4 approaches the grass-court season being willing to play well and fresh, as after the loss to Dominic Thiem at the Roland Garros he spent more than a week in Serbia with his family before returning in Monte Carlo to practice again.

Last Wednesday the decision to play a grass-court event before Wimbledon for the first time since 2010, and especially do it a week before the Grand Slam event, came. Just about this choice, in press conference on Monday Nole said: 'This year I knew I wanted to play one, but I thought Queen's and Halle would be too early for me. I haven't had too many matches this year all in all.

That's the reason why I came to Eastbourne. For me it's great to visit a new place, be part of a new event. I don't get to experience that too often. We have more or less the same schedule each year over and over again.' Nole should hire a new second coach soon, but in the meantime he confirmed Andre Agassi will work with him in Wimbledon from the start of the event (instead of Roland Garros where he left at the end of the first week), as long as Nole stays in the tournament.

'That's great news', Djokovic said. 'Obviously Roland Garros, the eight or nine days that we spent together, were very valuable for me to get to know him, to learn from him. We shared a lot of experiences on and off the court, things that he has been through that I can relate to.

So having him around is not only great for myself but also for tennis. He's supposed to arrive for the weekend. So he's going to be there before the tournament starts. For now, we're going with the flow in a way. Andre has a very busy life. He has a big family, he lives on the west coast of America, he's got his foundation, his businesses - he has many, many things in his life that are consuming a lot of time.

First of all, I appreciate all his consideration to work with me and to be with me, so we don't have anything formal. We don't have anything signed. It's just as much as he can or he feels to be with me that I embrace that, I accept that, and I'm grateful for it.' Nole also added he aims to have more consistency in the next few months: 'It does feel different than 12 months ago when I had the four grand slams under my belt, and coming into Wimbledon, completely different than I mentally am today.

I still have to trust myself, my abilities to play well, and to win against anybody on any surface. I will just try to reach that consistency level that I need, because I felt like that's something that I was lacking.' 'I've been struggling with the level of tennis', admitted Novak, who won two titles in the last year: Toronto and Doha. 'I've never experienced this particular situation since I started playing professional tennis.

I was very fortunate to experience upwards direction in terms of results and improving the game. It's the first time now in a stretch of seven or eight months that I haven't won any big tournament. I'm not playing at my best and I'm aware of that.

But I've got to stay positive about myself and my game. It had to happen sooner or later and I'm really glad it did - it made me start asking myself certain questions. I know that things change: I'm 30, not 20 and I have to adjust to that.

Novak Djokovic believes that his trip to the south coast of England to compete at the Aegon International will have a positive effect on every aspect of his game.
Speaking after his 25th match win of the year on Wednesday, the Serbian star admitted, “I came to Eastbourne because I wanted to experience match play – mentally, physically and tactically – every way you look at it. Because grass is a different surface from any other, I would like to get as much time on the court as possible.
“The movement is very different from clay or hard courts. You've got to be very soft, very gentle, but yet very reactive… I’m trying to get as much of the match situations as possible, hear the chair umpire say 30-all, 4-all. Those kind of intense moments.”

Djokovic, the highest-ranked male player to compete in Eastbourne since Marcelo Rios in 1999, has not competed at a grass-court event prior to Wimbledon since the 2010 Aegon Championships.
Four days into his stay at Devonshire Park, the venue of the ATP World Tour 250 tournament, the 30 year old says the fans have made him feel most welcome.
“It's a very kind of informal tournament in a good way, where you can go around the grounds and kind of interact with people,” said Djokovic. “Sure, people come up to you, but they respect you if you're going with a purpose to a certain court to observe a match or something like that. That's what happened the other day. People are really kind of respectful and giving me space for certain time until I finished with my scouting.
“That's the nice thing about this tournament. I don't get to experience that. Usually I am, like most of the top players, in the locker rooms or especially in the areas where the players are going to be around. So it's nice to go around the outside courts and observe, because that's what we all used to do. It's good to do that again for a change.”

Novak Djokovic feels “liberated” by the reduced expectations surrounding his Wimbledon prospects. The Serb won his first match at Eastbourne on Wednesday, defeating Canada’s Vasek Pospisil 6-4, 6-3 in an hour and 25 minutes.

Inconsistent form over the past 12 months has resulted in Djokovic losing his grip on all four of the sport’s majors and the appointment of Andre Agassi as his coach, as well as a change from his pre-Wimbledon routine.

Djokovic’s presence for the first time at Eastbourne represents his first participation in an official grass-court competition between the French Open and Wimbledon since 2010. It appears an attempt by the three-times Wimbledon champion to strengthen his Wimbledon chances a year after he failed to retain his All England Club title.

“It is liberating a bit,” he said. “I was very fortunate and privileged to have so much success in the last eight, nine years, and kind of entered most of the tournaments as one of the biggest favourites. So for a change it’s good to not be one of the top favourites. It releases a bit of the pressure. It’s always there. You still feel it. It’s part of what I do. And what I have achieved so far has added to those expectations.

“I try to lower those expectations myself, because I really want to as much as I can, in this stage of my life and career, be in the moment and trying to focus only on what comes up next, which doesn’t mean that I don’t want to win the trophies.”

Djokovic, ranked fourth in the world, was seeded No2 on Wednesday for Wimbledon. “I want to thank Wimbledon for getting me two spots ahead than I’m actually ranked. It’s probably due to also the good results I have had in the last three, four years in Wimbledon.

“Whether it helps or not, I can’t say at the moment. It doesn’t make too much of a difference other than I’m not going to potentially meet Andy [Murray] in semis rather than finals, but it’s too far away. As I said, I don’t see myself as one of the top few favourites.”

Serbian heads to Wimbledon full of confidence
Novak Djokovic won his second ATP World Tour title of the season on Saturday, beating Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 in 76 minutes at the Aegon International in Eastbourne.
Djokovic captures his first title since January, when he beat World No. 1 Andy Murray to kick off the 2017 ATP World Tour season at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. The title is a positive step for the Serbian, who has since fallen to No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and was a late wild-card entry into the ATP World Tour 250 in Eastbourne.

Djokovic now heads to Wimbledon, which starts on Monday, on a four-match winning streak and full of confidence as he prepares to compete for the title at the All England Club. Djokovic is a three-time champion at the grass-court Grand Slam.
“It was a great week. Obviously it feels right, looking back on the decision-making process and whether or not I should come here, now it feels like it was a good decision. But also a few days ago it felt right because I had a lot of time spent on the court, some good match play. But most of all, I felt very welcomed here by the people. On and off the court I was greeted, I was respected. So, for me, it was just a phenomenal experience that I will definitely take with me to Wimbledon,” Djokovic said.
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If Djokovic goes on to win his fourth Wimbledon crown, he will become the first player to win an ATP World Tour title and a Grand Slam title in consecutive weeks since Patrick Rafter swept Long Island and the US Open in 1998. Djokovic will receive 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and €113,330 in prize money.
Monfils was trying to beat Djokovic for the first time since a Futures event on clay in Bergamo, Italy, in April 2004. Coming into Saturday, the Frenchman was 0-13 against the Serbian in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, and Djokovic controlled the match from the start, breaking in the opening game and to close out the first set.
Although Monfils brought pace and swung aggressively throughout the match, Djokovic was more clutch in the biggest moments, again breaking Monfils to finish the match. The Belgrade native saved all three break points and won 76 per cent of his first-serve points. Monfils will receive 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points and €59,690 in prize money.
“I tried my best today. I think he played very good, returned very good. Obviously in the first set he served very good. It was very tough to handle his first serve. I had some opportunities, and he had a bit of luck and managed it very good. I think I played a tough match,” Monfils said.

The 30-year-old Serbian confirmed on Saturday that former World No. 7 Mario Ancic will join him, along with Andre Agassi, during the fortnight at Wimbledon. Djokovic said he has long known Ancic, who grew up in neighbouring Croatia, and that the two have stayed in touch since the three-time ATP World Tour titlist had to retire in 2011 because of health problems, including complications from mononucleosis.
“He's one of the closest friends I've ever had on the tour,” Djokovic said. “He was always a very nice guy, very smart... We always had that mutual respect and appreciation for one another.”
Ancic, 33, started a new career after tennis, earning his law degree from Columbia University in 2013. He now works as an investment banker with Credit Suisse in New York. But Djokovic said the two haven't agreed on any long-term arrangement, and that Ancic, like Agassi, will help out when he's available.

“He was to be in London for his own commitments, so he's going to use the opportunity to be with me. Whether we're going to build from there a long-term relationship or not, we'll see,” Djokovic said.
The World No. 4 discussed adding Ancic with Agassi, who agreed that the Croatian would be a good addition. Agassi first joined Djokovic at Roland Garros earlier this season but has an array of obligations, including his family and his own foundation, that will limit how much time he can spend with Djokovic.
“[Agassi] is probably going to come on the biggest tournaments, and whenever he has free time in the schedule, he's going to come and support me and help me out,” Djokovic said.
Ancic will help fill in the gaps, Djokovic said. “We have made a conclusion that we need someone next to Andre that is going to be maybe more frequently with me and more often at the small tournaments or maybe some practice weeks and so forth. Mario was the perfect guy. At the moment he was definitely on top of my list, and Andre agrees as well,” Djokovic said.
The Belgrade native begged off the suggestion that he should just work with someone who could travel and coach full-time. “I don't like things easy,” Djokovic said, smiling. “I have certain criteria, I would say, for the profile of a person that is going to be next to me. It's not just anyone who was on the tour. Everyone has their own preferences. I'm looking to have someone that fits into the values that I stand for and not just in sport but in life in general. Andre and Mario are there for a reason, and I'm very grateful to have them.”

It's the fourth coaching announcement Djokovic had made during the past eight months. In May, Djokovic parted ways with his long-time coach Marian Vajda, having also split with Boris Becker at the end of 2016.
Perhaps Ancic will be able to share some unique insight at Wimbledon. In 2002, Ancic, then World No. 154, knocked out No. 9 Federer in the first round, which remains the last time Federer lost in his opener at the Grand Slam event. Ancic also reached the Wimbledon semi-finals (2004, l. to Roddick) and the quarter-finals twice (2006, l. to Federer; 2008, l. to Federer).
Djokovic, a three-time Wimbledon champion, is the second seed and will face Slovakian Martin Klizan in the first round.

Serbian heads to Wimbledon full of confidence
Novak Djokovic won his second ATP World Tour title of the season on Saturday, beating Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-4 in 76 minutes at the Aegon International in Eastbourne.
Djokovic captures his first title since January, when he beat World No. 1 Andy Murray to kick off the 2017 ATP World Tour season at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open. The title is a positive step for the Serbian, who has since fallen to No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings and was a late wild-card entry into the ATP World Tour 250 in Eastbourne.

Djokovic now heads to Wimbledon, which starts on Monday, on a four-match winning streak and full of confidence as he prepares to compete for the title at the All England Club. Djokovic is a three-time champion at the grass-court Grand Slam.
“It was a great week. Obviously it feels right, looking back on the decision-making process and whether or not I should come here, now it feels like it was a good decision. But also a few days ago it felt right because I had a lot of time spent on the court, some good match play. But most of all, I felt very welcomed here by the people. On and off the court I was greeted, I was respected. So, for me, it was just a phenomenal experience that I will definitely take with me to Wimbledon,” Djokovic said.
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If Djokovic goes on to win his fourth Wimbledon crown, he will become the first player to win an ATP World Tour title and a Grand Slam title in consecutive weeks since Patrick Rafter swept Long Island and the US Open in 1998. Djokovic will receive 250 Emirates ATP Rankings points and €113,330 in prize money.
Monfils was trying to beat Djokovic for the first time since a Futures event on clay in Bergamo, Italy, in April 2004. Coming into Saturday, the Frenchman was 0-13 against the Serbian in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, and Djokovic controlled the match from the start, breaking in the opening game and to close out the first set.
Although Monfils brought pace and swung aggressively throughout the match, Djokovic was more clutch in the biggest moments, again breaking Monfils to finish the match. The Belgrade native saved all three break points and won 76 per cent of his first-serve points. Monfils will receive 150 Emirates ATP Rankings points and €59,690 in prize money.
“I tried my best today. I think he played very good, returned very good. Obviously in the first set he served very good. It was very tough to handle his first serve. I had some opportunities, and he had a bit of luck and managed it very good. I think I played a tough match,” Monfils said.

LONDON, July 3 (Reuters) - Andre Agassi has big plans for Novak Djokovic as he looks to steer him back toward his best tennis but there is one thing he won’t be advocating - a break.

Former world No. 1 Mats Wilander was among those to suggest that the best thing Djokovic could do would be to take an extended break after Wimbledon, allowing him to rest and regain the form that deserted him in the first half of the year.

But Agassi, who began working with Djokovic at the French Open last month, says Djokovic is motivated to do the hard work required now, rather than later.

“What’s really beneficial is being clear,” Agassi said. “A break isn’t beneficial if you’re not giving yourself a break because you know you want to be doing something else.

“Playing isn’t beneficial when you’re spent and you feel like you need a break and your team’s pushing you to play. So does he need a break? No, I think he’s ready and he has clear objectives.”

When Djokovic was beaten by Dominic Thiem in the French Open quarter-finals, Agassi had already left Paris, due to prior commitments.

He will be at Wimbledon throughout – handily coinciding with his role as ambassador for the Italian coffee company, Lavazza.

The way Djokovic faded in the third set against Thiem in Paris led some to suggest that Agassi may have underestimated the magnitude of his task.

But as the Serb earned his first title since January by winning in Eastbourne last weekend, former world number one Agassi said he had not been under any illusions before accepting the role, a job he says he is doing for free.

“You’ve got to remember my history coming into this - I’ve seen behind the curtain so I don’t look at these guys as machines,” said the 47-year-old American who won eight grand slam titles.

“I knew what I was getting into. I knew it was a daunting task to care about somebody and care about him enough to show reservations. It’s easy to say this is how you play your best tennis but he knows that, everybody knows," he added.

“We all go through that as former number one players in the world or champions who have gotten over the finishing line.

“We all go through that and I think I went through that as extreme as anybody.”

Agassi said he was confident Djokovic would find a way back to his best, sooner rather than later.

“I’m learning (about) somebody who has many more skills than me and a huge heart – the heart of a lion – and the work ethic of a soldier,” he said.

“It’s beautiful tools to work with. I can honestly say the hardest part about winning Wimbledon, the French or any of the slams, with his skill-set would be sleeping at night because I’d be excited to play the next day.”