Rising British star Cameron Norrie has been awarded a wild card into the singles main draw of the Fever-Tree Championships, while four-time champion Lleyton Hewitt will join forces with Nick Kyrgios after the Australian duo received a doubles wild card.
Norrie has made significant strides since turning professional last year, including a Davis Cup victory over World No.13 Robert Bautista Agut and rising to a career-high World No.102. He will also be a main draw entrant in this year’s French Open at Roland Garros.
LTA Head of Men’s Tennis and GB Davis Cup Captain said: "Cam has really pushed on over the last year and shown that he can mix it with the top players on any given day, whether it be his performances in Davis Cup or qualifying for the bigger ATP events.
"He now needs to start winning matches regularly in main draws, make the Top 100 and push on from there. A wild card into the Fever-Tree Championships at The Queen’s Club is a great opportunity to do exactly that.’
Hewitt retired from singles play in 2016 after winning the title in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2006, but he will return to the scene of some of his greatest performances, including his 6-4, 6-4 win over Pete Sampras in the 2000 final as a 19-year-old. It will mark only the second time that Hewitt and Kyrgios have played together at a tournament. The other was in Montreal in 2015.
Stephen Farrow, Tournament Director, said: “We are delighted to award Fever-Tree Championships wild cards to Cameron in the singles and Lleyton and Nick in the doubles. Cameron deserves his chance to take on the best players in the world on grass after the progress he has made this year, and we know that our ticket-holders are going to love the chance to see Lleyton and Nick playing doubles together for the first time in Britain. Lleyton is one of our all-time greats, and we can’t wait to see him back at The Queen’s Club again.”
Hewitt added: “The Fever-Tree Championships at The Queen’s Club will always have a special place in my heart. The memories I have of beating Pete Sampras in the final when I was a teenager are as vivid now as they’ve ever been. The grass is always perfect, they look after the players, and it’s just a really special tournament to me, and I think to everyone that’s played there. I still love to compete, I can still play a bit, and to be given the chance to get out there with another Aussie is something I’m really looking forward to.”
Fun facts
- Hewitt triumphed for the first time at The Queen’s Club in 2000 when he defeated defending champion Pete Sampras 6-4, 6-4 in the final. At 19-years-old, this made him the tournament’s second youngest champion behind Boris Becker who won the title aged 17
- He went on to lift the title in 2001, 2002 and 2006, making him one of 7 players to achieve this feat (Major Ritchie, Anthony Wilding, Roy Emerson, John McEnroe, Boris Becker and Andy Roddick). Only Andy Murray has surpassed this record when he sealed a record 5th title in 2016
- In 2002, he cemented his win at The Queen’s Club by becoming the Wimbledon men’s singles champion
- Between 1998 and 2015, Hewitt captured 41 main draw singles victories at The Queen's Club, second only to McEnroe who recorded 42 wins
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Hewitt has also taken a wild card entry in the doubles tournament at the Fuzion 100 Surbiton Trophy, June 4 - 10, where he will play with fellow Aussie Alex Bolt.
The Fever-Tree Championships will be covered throughout by BBC television, radio and online, by Amazon Prime Video for the first time and around the world in more than 40 countries.