Novak Djokovic alters six-year routine in bid to rediscover form before Wimbledon

Novak Djokovic's quest to rediscover some sort of form ahead of the 2017 Wimbledon Championships will see him compete alongside the likes of Gael Monfils, John Isner, Kyle Edmund and Aljaz Bedene in the main draw at next week's Aegon International warm-up event in Eastbourne.

The slumping world number four is set to make his first appearance at Devonshire Park in the annual ATP 250 tournament, returning to the south coast after a two-year stint in Nottingham, which runs from 26 June-1 July and offers the final chance for players to hone their respective games before the third grand slam of the year.

It is the first time in seven years that 12-time major winner Djokovic, who has not played since being eliminated by Dominic Thiem in straight sets in the quarter-finals of the French Open, has played in a grass-court tune-up event before Wimbledon.

In 2010, he reached the third round at Queen's Club before falling to Xavier Malisse. As per The Times, it is also only the third time he has ever played an ATP tournament in the week directly before a grand slam.

"This will be my first trip to Eastbourne, I have heard great things about the tournament," Djokovic said after accepting a wildcard. "I am looking forward to fine tuning my grass court game there ahead of Wimbledon."

Tournament director Gavin Fletcher added: "The quality of the men's and women's entries is already incredibly high, and the addition of Novak will take the event to an even higher level."

Women's number one Angelique Kerber, embarrassed at Roland Garros in the first round by Ekaterina Makarova, has also accepted a wildcard for Eastbourne. Seven of the world's top 10 players are scheduled to compete in the WTA Premier event, including local favourite Johanna Konta.

Wimbledon wildcards

Elsewhere in the world of tennis on Wednesday (21 June), seven British players - Brydan Klein, Cameron Norrie, James Ward, Katie Boulter, Naomi Broady, Laura Robson and Heather Watson - were all handed wildcards for the Wimbledon main draws by the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC).

10 more - including Liam Broady and Marcus Willis - were granted entry into qualifying. Willis, who was also given a wildcard for the men's doubles alongside Jay Clarke, went through six rounds just to make the main draw at SW19 last year and stunned Ricardas Berankis before seeing his fairytale run ended by Roger Federer on Centre Court.