Murray enters Nottingham field

British number two Andy Murray has been given a wild card into the Nottingham Open next week as he steps up his preparations for Wimbledon.

The 19-year-old Scot, who is currently 45th in the world rankings, made a poor start to the grass-court season and lost to Janko Tipsarevic in the first round at the Stella Artois Championships.

Murray joins Richard Gasquet and Dmitry Tursunov among the field at Nottingham, while Greg Rusedski was forced to withdraw from the tournament due to a hip injury.

“Andy Murray’s decision to compete is fantastic news for the tournament and British tennis fans,” said tournament director Patrick Hughesman.

“It’s obviously disappointing that Greg has had to withdraw from a tournament where he has won twice before. We wish him well with his recovery.”