TENNIS ATP HALLE – The Gerry Weber Open, in Halle, Germany, kicks off the grass court season on the Continent with Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer leading an all-star entry field that includes Milos Raonic, Kei Nishikori, Richard Gasquet , Mikhail Youzhny, Tommy Haas and Jerzy Janowicz as the Top 8 seeds. Mark Winters
The Gerry Weber Open, in Halle, Germany, kicks off the grass court season on the Continent, June 9th. Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer lead an all-star entry field that has been skillfully choreographed by Tournament Director, Ralf Weber. In addition to those illustrious “names”, Milos Raonic, the young Canadian whose game is becoming more solid with each tournament, and Kei Nishikori of Japan, who is anxious to transition his clay court successes to the lawns, are the No. 3 and No. 4 seeds. Richard Gasquet, of France, is No. 5, and he is followed by Mikhail Youzhny of Russia. Home-country favorite Tommy Haas (who is returning to competition after having shoulder issues at Roland Garros) is No. 7, and Jerzy Janowicz of Poland, rounds out the Top Eight seeds.
Lurking in the draw, and not to be overlook (ever) are Gael Monfils of France, Ivo Karlovic of Croatia and Lukasz Kubot another Polish contestant. Philipp Kohlschreiber and Dustin Brown are two of the dangerous Germans, who are always looking to excel when they are part of the Halle mix.
For Federer, the defending champion, the Gerry Weber Open is almost like his home away from home. After bowing out of Roland Garros in the fourth round because of the truly inspired play of Latvian Ernests Gulbis, he is anxious to return to the town where a street bears his name, and to the tournament where he has been a six-time winner (including four in a row after which he moved on to Wimbledon and won the same number of titles, resulting in a two tournament run of eight in a row). Haas, who earned the Halle title in 2009 and again in ’13, along Kohlschreiber, who finished on top in 2011, have fond memories of playing on the 12,300-seat center court with the amazing closeable roof, that set the “it may raining, but there still is play…” standard in the tennis world.
While expectations for a Nadal-Federer final will drive spectator’s hopes, reality intrudes. offering a flashing yellow-light caution. The World’s No. 1 will have taken on No. 2 Novak Djokovic of Serbia in the Roland Garros final, and if the Spaniard is extended beyond his seemingly boundless energy reserves, he may decide to give Halle a pass. He has done it before (and Federer has too).
So all Ralf Weber can hope for the best this year and look forward to 2015 when the Gerry Weber Open moves from an ATP World Tour 250 Series to a 500 Series event, and the time between Roland Garros and Wimbledon is lengthened by a week. Next year, the Topshelf Open ‘s-Hertogenbosch, the Netherlands and the MercedesCup Stuttgart, Germany will follow play in Paris. Then the long-standing principle Wimbledon warm-ups, Halle and the Aegon Championships (Queen’s) in London, are set to take place. Having a lifetime contract with Federer and a lengthy agreement with Nadal, Weber will certainly have less concern about the possibility of “no shows.”
Moving back to the present, the 22nd Gerry Weber Open promises to showcase grass court tennis at its best. Given the players who will be participating, this is not a hope… This is what always takes place in Halle.
