Rusedski grapples with Wimbledon dream

Greg Rusedski begins the defence of his Nottingham Open title this afternoon knowing victory is essential to revive his fast-fading Wimbledon dream.

Rusedski takes on Slovakia’s Karol Kucera in the first round in a repeat of the 1997 final which Rusedski won on his way to becoming the first British player to finish inside the world’s top 10.

The British number two also went on to reach the US Open final that year, losing to Pat Rafter but now finds himself struggling to come to terms with the after-effects of the long battle to clear his name following a positive drugs test last year.

The 30-year-old lost in the first round of the Stella Artois Championship last week and has won only two out of eight matches since being cleared of any wrongdoing in March.

He would have hoped for an easier first round opponent than Kucera, who is ranked 76th in the world and reached the third round at Wimbledon last year before losing to former finalist David Nalbandian.

“I would love to do well here at Nottingham,” said Rusedski.

“I’ve won the title here twice and I’m hoping to build up my confidence leading up to Wimbledon.

“I want to see everything improve in my game and I don’t think it’s tough to get up for a tournament like this. I enjoy playing on the surface and my attacking play will get rewarded.”

He had been forced to pull out of the previous event in Sarajevo due to food poisoning but the LTA.