LONDON, June 10, 2019 (Press Release)
The Fever-Tree Championships, an LTA summer grass court event, has awarded wild cards to 2017 champion Feliciano Lopez and young British player Jay Clarke in singles, and the teams of Luke Bambridge and Jonny O’Mara, and Kyle Edmund and Ken Skupski, in doubles.
Lopez and Clarke join defending champion Marin Cilic, Top 10 players Stefanos Tsitsipas (6) and Kevin Anderson (8), and many of the most exciting NextGenATP stars in tennis at The Queen’s Club, 17-23 June.
Bambridge/O’Mara, Edmund/Skupski will line up in a doubles draw that features a returning Andy Murray alongside Lopez, the Bryan brothers, and a new British partnership of Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski.
For Lopez, 37, it is a return to the scene of his greatest triumph – a 4-6, 7-6, 7-6 win over Cilic in the final two years ago.
“For me, the Fever-Tree Championships is one of the best tournaments on the tour, and to win it in 2017 was the most special victory of my career,” said Lopez. “I am so happy and grateful to be given this wild card so that I can compete at this beautiful club against so many great players once again.”
Clarke, 20, has jumped more than 60 places in the ATP rankings (162) over the past 12 months and currently stands No.15 in the race to the Next Gen ATP finals in Milan, a tournament for players aged 21-and-under.
Leon Smith, LTA Head of Men’s Tennis and Davis Cup Captain, said: “Jay has made good progress this year, winning a challenger title in China and rising to just outside the world’s Top 150 in the rankings at the age of only 20. He has a lot of potential, and the Fever-Tree Championships gives him chance to test himself against the players he wants to be competing against regularly in the future.
“Luke and Jonny are a great story. They have become an established doubles partnership over the last year, reaching three ATP finals, while Ken and Kyle are a new team but with plenty of experience on the doubles court. This is a great opportunity for them all to show what they can do.”
Tournament Director Stephen Farrow, who is also the LTA’s Director of International Events and Professional Game, said: “These wild cards are in keeping with the traditions of the event, offering opportunities to a popular former champion, a rising young player, and two British teams in the doubles. Feliciano will always be one of our most popular champions, Jay continues to improve, and I am really happy to be able to give this chance to Luke and Jonny, and Ken and Kyle in the doubles draw. We are in for a fantastic week of tennis.”
Limited tickets are available, starting from £50 – http://po.st/QueensTickets2019.
Singles Entry List
1 Kevin Anderson
2 Juan Martin Del Potro
3 Stefanos Tsitsipas
4 Marin Cilic
5 Daniil Medvedev
6 Milos Raonic
7 Marco Cecchinato
8 Denis Shapovalov
9 Kyle Edmund
10 Diego Schwartzman
11 Alex de Minaur
12 Lucas Pouille
13 Gilles Simon
14 Felix Auger-Aliassime
15 Frances Tiafoe
16 Cristian Garin
17 Stan Wawrinka
18 Nick Kyrgios
19 Martin Fucsovics
20 Fernando Verdasco
21 Mikhail Kukushkin
22 Cameron Norrie
23 Grigor Dimitrov
WC Dan Evans
WC Feliciano Lopez
WC Jay Clarke
Doubles Entry List
1. Mate Pavic / Bruno Soares
2. Juan Sebastian Cabal / Robert Farah
3. Nicolas Mahut / Edouard Roger-Vasselin
4. Bob Bryan / Mike Bryan
5. Henri Kontinen / John Peers
6. Jamie Murray / Neal Skupski
7. Marin Cilic / Ivan Dodig
8. Rajeev Ram / Joe Salisbury
9. Felix Auger-Aliassime / Alex De Minaur
10. Andy Murray / Feliciano Lopez
WC Bambridge/O’Mara
WC Edmund/Skupski
