Novak Djokovic to make rare Eastbourne appearance before Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic will play his first pre-Wimbledon event in seven years after accepting a wildcard at Eastbourne.

The three-time Wimbledon champion has not played since losing in the French Open quarter-finals earlier this month.

The 30-year-old Serb has dropped to fourth in the world after a turbulent year in which he has only won one title and split with his coaching team.

“I am looking forward to fine-tuning my grass court game ahead of Wimbledon,” said the 12-time Grand Slam winner.

“This will be my first trip to Eastbourne, I have heard great things about the tournament.”

Djokovic became the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time last year, but now does not hold any after suffering a loss of form.

He suffered early-round exits at last year’s Wimbledon and January’s Australian Open, then lost to Austria’s world number eight Dominic Thiem at Roland Garros.

Defeat against Thiem meant he slipped out of the world’s top two for the first time since 2011.

Eastbourne is the final tour event before Wimbledon starts on Monday, 3 July.

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