Djokovic joins line-up at Queen's
Date published :
08 Apr 2010 - 11:01:06
Novak Djokovic will join Rafael Nadal and Andy Roddick at this year's Aegon Championships at London's Queen's Club.The world number two from Serbia finished runner-up to Nadal in 2008.
"It would mean a lot if I could go one step further than 2008 and win the Aegon Championships at Queen's, and then do well at Wimbledon," he said.
Britain's Andy Murray is the reigning champion and is expected to defend his title at the tournament, which runs from 7-13 June.
US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro is the fourth member of the current world's top 10 to have so far confirmed their entry.
Roddick will be trying to win a record fifth title at Queen's Club after victories in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2007.
"I've had a lot of success at Queen's and I still say it is the best grass court in the world," said the American. "It plays perfectly and so the Aegon Championships is a great way to prepare for Wimbledon.
Will Nadal regain the title at Queen's? "If you look at my grass-court season [in 2009] as a whole, it went well. It was disappointing to hurt my ankle in the semi-finals at Queen's and have to pull out, but I was playing well and I took that into Wimbledon."
Roddick went on to lose last year's Wimbledon final to Roger Federer in an epic match which was finally decided 16-14 in the fifth set after four hours and 17 minutes.
"The more you distance yourself from it, the more you start remembering the better things about it as opposed to the most disappointing things about it," said Roddick.
"For the crowd to kind of acknowledge my effort was real nice and I certainly appreciated it. I promise you, I wish more than anything that I would have won that tournament, but I'm still going to move on and keep going with the plan that we've set in place, because I feel like it is working.
"I'll always want to win that tournament and I view last year as something to build on."
Nadal has not played on grass since beating Federer in the 2008 Wimbledon final because of his knee problems.
"This year there is even more motivation because I could not defend my titles last year," he said.
In the Spaniard's absence last year, Murray defeated James Blake to clinch his first grass-court title at Queen's before Federer clinched his sixth Wimbledon crown.
Nadal added: "No-one was more disappointed than me that I couldn't play because I love those tournaments.
"It was an amazing feeling to win Queen's in 2008 and then to fulfil my dream by winning Wimbledon.
"To not defend my Wimbledon title last year was one of the toughest decisions in my career, but this is a new year and now I have the chance to go back to England and to compete on the grass again."
The Aegon Championships will be broadcast live on BBC Sport.
