Murray to play Eastbourne as he continues his comeback

ANDY Murray will continue his comeback in Eastbourne next week after asking for a wild card into the Nature Valley International.

The three-time grand slam champion made his return from nearly a year out with hip problems at Queen’s Club on Tuesday, losing narrowly to Nick Kyrgios in an encouraging performance.

Murray was waiting to see how he felt after the match before deciding where his next action would be.

The 31-year-old has decided to commit to another tournament and, with the field weaker at Eastbourne than Queen’s, Murray should have a decent chance of a first victory of his comeback.

The Scot said: “I’m looking forward to getting some more time on the grass courts at Eastbourne this week.

“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, and I’m hoping to build on that next week at Devonshire Park.

Murray, currently ranked 156, has not played a tournament in the week before Wimbledon since 2006.

Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman is the top-ranked entrant with Kyle Edmund set to be seeded second.

Novak Djokovic insists reaching the elite 800-win club is only the latest milestone in his quest to rewrite the record books, refusing even to rule out playing beyond his 40th birthday.

Djokovic became only the 10th man in the Open era to reach 800 match wins as the former world number one moved into the Queen’s Club semi-finals with a 7-5, 6-1 victory over Adrian Mannarino on Friday.

The 31-year-old will play France’s Jeremy Chardy today as he bids for a second Queen’s final appearance.

If Djokovic wins the semi-final and goes onto take the Queen’s title for the first time, he will pass Stefan Edberg into ninth place on the all-time wins list.

Roger Federer beat Matthew Ebden to win his 19th successive match on grass and reach the Halle Open semi-finals.

The Swiss, aiming for a 10th title in Germany, beat Australian world number 60 Ebden 7-6 (7-2) 7-5. Victory in Halle will ensure 36-year-old Federer retains his world number one ranking.