Russian Dmitry Tursunov won the inaugural men's event in 2009

Aegon International tournament director Gavin Fletcher is targeting a stronger men's field for next year's event at Eastbourne.

This year's draw boasts 13 of the world's top 20 women, but American John Isner, ranked 19 in the world, is the leading male player.

Fletcher told BBC Sussex: "We're still in a building process but next year we have to push it a bit harder.

"We won't accept the status quo. We want the men's event to improve."

He added: "I think when we embarked on this journey of combining the men's and women's event we didn't know what to expect.

"We made great strides last year with the service level that we put on for the men.

"Second year into it we're still bedding the men's event down. We need to try and attract more players down here in the future.

"We want them to enjoy coming down here and playing at Eastbourne."

The tournament, held at Devonshire Park, runs from 12-19 June.

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