It's Nearly Time for Pro Series Tennis

Quentin Halys has rocketed up the world rankings since beating Brit Dan Cox in last year's men's final at The Shrewsbury Club - and the French teenager recently underlined his potential by taking on world No 1 Novak Djokovic in the second round of the Australian Open in Melbourne.

A strong field of players from around Europe and further afield will battle it out for honours at the Club, headed by Brit Liam Broady, ranked as high as 158 in the world as recently as last August.

Qualifying for the International Tennis Federation event starts on Sunday morning and the matches in the main draw begin on Tuesday. Admission throughout the week at The Shrewsbury Club is free, including to the singles final on Saturday, February 20.

Dave Courteen, the managing director of The Shrewsbury Club, said: "It's always exciting to see who's going to play in the tournaments we hold and what we love about having the Aegon here is we know we're seeing the stars of tomorrow. Quentin Halys has had a phenomenal rise since winning here last March, recently taking Djokovic to a tie break in the third set at the Australian Open. He's only 19 and is a player that's probably going to be top 40 or 50 in the world in the future.

"Now we're waiting to see who's going to be the Quentin Halys of this tournament, which is really exciting. We can look back at both the men's and women's events we've staged at The Shrewsbury Club and see players that have really come through onto the world stage. The quality of tennis is always higher than I expect and remember - and it's just a great chance to see world class tennis and stars of the future up close on the tennis court."

Dave added he's been delighted how Shropshire has really embraced the Aegon tournaments, supporting the events in growing numbers each year.

He insisted: "There is no doubt about it that the town and county together with Tennis Shropshire has really got behind these events hugely and they have grown and grown and grown.

"The number of spectators we attract to the singles finals, more than 400, is way beyond anything else anywhere else in the country for a similar type of event and that's great. I think that's partly because we put on a good show and make them a real occasion with plenty of entertainment for the crowd. We really appreciate that local people get behind the tournament and that they like to come along and see a cracking live sporting event right here in Shrewsbury which is top quality and free to enjoy."

The first round matches in the main draw will be drawn at a special civic reception to officially launch the tournament at Origins, Shrewsbury College's popular restaurant, next Monday evening. A cocktail reception for local businesses will be held at The Shrewsbury Club next Friday afternoon, February 19, when guests will also have the chance to watch the doubles final.

"There's plenty of events for people to join in with throughout the week as well as coming along to watch the tennis which is free for everyone every day," added Dave.

Pictured: Quentin Halys, last year's winner of the Aegon GB Pro-Series men's tournament at The Shrewsbury Club, has since enjoyed a meteoric rise up the world rankings. Now the search will begin this weekend to find his successor. Picture by Richard Dawson Photography.