Andy Murray to play at Eastbourne next week

Andy Murray in action at Queen's Club this week. Picture: Marc Atkins/Getty Images

The Scot asked for wild card into the newly-christened Nature Valley International which is the final ATP event before Wimbledon begins on 2 July.

Murray played his first match in almost a year on Tuesday when he lost in three sets to Nick Kyrgios in the Fever-Tree Championship at Queen’s Club.

He will now return to grass-court action at Devonshire Park.

“I’m looking forward to getting some more time on the grass courts at Eastbourne,” Murray said.

“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 build on that next week at Devonshire Park.”

Murray, currently ranked 156 in the world, has not played a tournament in the week before Wimbledon since 2006, when the event was held in Nottingham.

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

The news will boost hopes that Murray will be able to compete at Wimbledon. The two-time champion was unsure following the defeat by Kyrgios whether best-of-five-sets tennis was the right thing for his body at this stage of his comeback.

Speaking after the Kyrgios match, Murray said: “I won’t rule anything out. I won’t rule out playing Eastbourne and not playing Wimbledon. I wouldn’t rule out not playing a tournament next week and trying to get matches like in an exhibition tournament, as well, to get ready for Wimbledon.”

Two-time Wimbledon winner Murray limped out of last year’s Championships, losing in five sets in the quarter-finals to Sam Querrey. He was clearly struggling with a hip problem.

He underwent surgery at the end of January after failing to make the Australian Open.