Eastbourne wildcards for Murray, Wawrinka

The men’s field at the combined ATP-WTA grass-court event in Eastbourne has received a boost with the inclusion of three-time major winners Andy Murray and Stan Wawrinka.

Less than a day after Wawrinka was announced as an entrant, Murray confirmed that he would take part in the Wimbledon tune-up in what will be his second tournament back from an 11-month absence while he dealt with a chronic hip injury.

It’s also good news for the tournament on England’s south coast, after the news on Wednesday that world No.1 and reigning Roland Garros champion Simona Halep was forced to withdraw.

Fun fact: last time Andy Murray played at Eastbourne was summer 2009 when, just after playing Wimbledon, he turned out for North of Scotland in LTA county week.

— Mike Dickson (@Mike_Dickson_DM) June 22, 2018

“I’m looking forward to getting some more time on the grass courts at Eastbourne this week,” Murray said in a media release.

“I played Davis Cup there in 2006 and I know the courts and facilities there are excellent. It was good to get back to competition at Queen’s this week, and I’m hoping to building on that next week at Devonshire Park.”

At Queen’s, Murray lost a three-set match in the first round to Nick Kyrgios, but there were encouraging signs for the former world No.1 throughout the near-three-hour battle.

RELATED: Murray loses “battle of the walking wounded” to Kyrgios at Queen’s

There were similarly encouraging signs for Wawrinka, who like Murray has barely played since Wimbledon last year due to an ongoing knee injury.

The Swiss won a round before falling to Sam Querrey in three sets in the last 16.

“All I know is that I personally feel really good with the way I’m practising, the way I’m moving and the way I’m playing my game,” Wawrinka said at the time.

“There are a few things on the court that are not the same and maybe will never be the same. But I believe that I’m strong enough now to play my best tennis.

“Is it going to be enough? We don’t know.”

Murray and Wawrinka join fellow ATP players Diego Schwartzman, Kyle Edmund, Denis Shapovalov and David Ferrer at the 250-level event.