Simon, Baker, Ward Received Eastbourne Wild Cards

Written by: Staff on 10th June 2010

Simon, Baker, Ward Received Eastbourne Wild Cards |

British No.3 Jamie Baker and No.5 James Ward 33rd-ranked Frenchman Gilles Simon, have been awarded wild cards into the Aegon International set for June 12-19 at Devonshire Park in Eastbourne.

Baker, currently ranked No.254 in the world, backed up the end to 2009 that saw him reach the finals at five-straight ITF Futures events in Thailand and Australia — winning three — by reaching the final at the Glasgow Futures event in January.

He continued this season in fine style, qualifying for the Tallahassee Challenger, reaching the second round at the Manta Challenger in April and the second rounds at Challengers at Sarasota, Cremona and Carson in May.

“I’m really pleased,” said 23-year-old Baker. “It’s a fantastic opportunity for me to get into the main draw and I’m going to do my best to take it. Having the men and women playing together in Eastbourne is great and I’m really looking forward to playing there.”

World No.344 Ward has also enjoyed a successful 2010 season, qualifying for the ATP World Tour event at Chennai in January, winning a live rubber in Great Britain’s Davis Cup tie against Lithuania in March, reaching the quarterfinals at Manta and the second round at the Aegon Trophy in Nottingham last week.

“It’s great to be given a wild card and to get the chance to play in a strong field at an ATP Tour event,” said 23-year-old Ward. “I’m really looking forward to it.”

Simon will be looking to use his wildcard into the Aegone International to make a comeback to competitive tennis.

The Frenchman has played a limited season in 2010, sidelined for much of the year with a knee injury. His best result came at the Sunrise Challenger in March, when he reached the final and he hasn’t competed since the ATP World Tour event at Miami where he lost in straight sets to Argentine Horacio Zeballos.

The Aegon International takes place at Devonshire Park, Eastbourne from June 12 to 19, 2010. The tournament features some of the biggest names in men’s and women’s tennis including James Blake, Feliciano Lopez, Kim Clijsters, Caroline Wozniacki, Francesca Schiavone, Sam Stosur and Svetlana Kuznetsova.

Tickets are available from www.seetickets.com/aegoninternational or from the Box Office: 0871 230 7131.

Topics: Aegon, Atp Tour, Atp World Tour, Challengers, Competitive Tennis, Davis Cup, Davis Cup Tie, Devonshire Park, Fine Style, Gilles Simon, Horacio, Itf Futures Events, Jamie Baker, Knee Injury, Quarterfinals, S Davis, Second Rounds, Simon Baker, Straight Sets, Wild Cards