THE Aegon Ilkley Trophy is virtually a sell-out for its final four days.

Tournament director Charlie Maunder said: "We have sold out today, tomorrow, apart from a few ground passes, Saturday and Sunday."

The tournament, which is in its third year and has tripled its prize-money for men and doubled it for women since 2016, has something for everybody, says Maunder.

"If it's doubles you want, we have Leander Paes (winner of eight Grand Slams in men's doubles and ten in mixed doubles), if it's women we have Laura Robson and top seed Oceane Dodin (world No 47) and if it is men that you want we have the Britons, including Marcus Willis, Jurgen Melzer and Paul-Henri Mathieu.

"You never get nine days in a row without rain in Ilkley, and there were a few drops yesterday, but we have started well, and the courts are playing fantastic – better than ever."

Maunder added: "It is also true that you are watching not only stars of the future, but stars of the present."

ATP Challenger supervisor Carl Baldwin said of the field at Ilkley: "People might not have watched these players on the telly, but they are seriously good players.

"The men's singles draw is very strong, and people who are having to qualify for this Challenger would be in the main draw at other Challengers, but that is the draw of preparing for Wimbledon qualifying, preparing for Eastbourne and preparing for Wimbledon.

"The courts are better than they were last year after the flooding, and the weeds have gone that were there last year because of that, but they still need work on them.

"Also people who have only ever watched tennis on the telly, because the cameras are at the end of the courts, get no idea of the speed at which the ball is travelling."

The raising of the level of entries has meant that British successes have been harder to come by, but Willis gave the home contingent a significant boost by defeating 2015 runner-up Matt Ebden on Centre Court on Tuesday night.

Having dropped the first set 6-1, the left-hander, who was yesterday awarded a wild card into Wimbledon qualifying but is in the main draw for doubles with Jay Clarke, bounced back to earn a second-round match today against 2016 finalist Vincent Millot (France).

Also awarded a wild card into the Wimbledon main draw was Robson, who started her Ilkley campaign on Centre Court last night against promising Russian teenager Anna Blinkova.

The 18-year-old, who was runner-up in the girls' singles at Wimbledon in 2015, was a quarter-finalist a fortnight ago in the $100,000 ITF Women's Futures

tournament in Manchester.