Grand Slam record winner Roger Federer will start his grass court season at the ATP tournament at Weissenhof in Stuttgart (9 to 17 June). The Swiss superstar had already taken part in the event in the Swabian metropolis in 2016 and 2017.
As in 2017, Federer is skipping the entire clay court season this year and is focusing entirely on the following turf tournaments. “The atmosphere at TC Weissenhof is wonderful. You can tell there’s a lot of life in the club. The tournament is very well organised and the spectators really go out of their way at the matches,” said Federer, saying: “Of course, my expectations on grass are high, and I’m looking forward to playing in Stuttgart again this year.
Last June, the 36-year-old failed in his opening match against Tommy Haas, and in 2016 Austria’s Dominic Thiem was the final destination for eight-time Wimbledon champion Federer in the semi-finals.
“Roger Federer’s participation further enhances the tournament. In order to offer the tennis stars perfect conditions on the way to the Grand Slam highlight in Wimbledon, four courts at the Weissenhof were equipped with a completely new grass surface for this year’s tournament,” explained tournament director Edwin Weindorfer.
Federer, who was voted World Sportsman of the Year for the fifth time last year, will face strong competition in the Mercedes Cup, which is endowed with 729,340 euros. In Milos Raonic, for example, a declared lawn specialist will be serving on the Weissenhof for the first time in June. How comfortable the Canadian feels on a green background was impressively demonstrated when he entered the Wimbledon final in 2016.
In addition to defending champion Lucas Pouille (France), HyeonChung (South Korea), NickKyrgios (Australia), Denis Shapovalov (Canada) and Taylor Fritz (USA) are among the many representatives from the circle of the “young savages” in Stuttgart. Last year’s finalist Feliciano Lopez, David Ferrer (both from Spain) and GaelMonfils (France) are a trio with a lot of experience like Federer.
At their home tournament Philipp Kohlschreiber, Peter Gojowczyk, Mischa Zverev and Jan-Lennard Struff also want to have an important say in the title allocation.