The 2018 edition of the Gerry Weber Open contains the drama of seeing Roger Federer make the push toward Wimbledon. Federer won’t be in a state of crisis if he loses early in Halle, but he would like to build at least some momentum. Odds are courtesy of BetDSI Sportsbook.
The competition in the 32-player main draw began on Monday, June 18.
Event Details
Event: Gerry Weber Open
Category: ATP World Tour – 500 Series
Date: June 18 -24, 2018
Location: Gerry Weber Stadion – Halle, Germany
With a prize money allotment of 1.983 million Euros, the 500-point tournament is a destination spot on the ATP calendar with a bump in prize money of roughly 150,000 Euros from last year. Halle is not in England, but the quality of the field is substantial enough to represent a legitimate challenge for the seeded players in this tournament. It is a legitimate Wimbledon warm-up on several levels. If anything, Halle might be a better grass test than Queen’s Club for a counterintuitive reason: The grass in Halle is generally less stable than Queen’s. Players get a lot more bad bounces in the latter stages of the tournament from the worn-out grass near the baseline. Being accustomed to bad bounces enables a player to appreciate the needs of a successful grass-court strategy: Attacking on points, getting in the first blow, putting the opponent under pressure, leaving less to chance.
Points
Champion – 500
Runner-up – 300
Semifinal – 180
Quarterfinal – 90
Round of 16 – 45
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
2017 – Roger Federer def. Alexander Zverev – 6-1, 6-3
2016 – Florian Mayer def. Alexander Zverev – 6-2, 5-7, 6-3
2015 – Roger Federer def. Andreas Seppi – 7-6, 6-4
2014 – Roger Federer def. Alejandro Falla – 7-6, 7-6
2013 – Roger Federer def. Mikhail Youzhny – 6-7, 6-3, 6-4
Player Info:
The star of the show in Halle every year is Roger Federer, who is gunning for a tenth championship at this tour event. Federer is defending champion, and the man he defeated in last year’s final is the next-highest seed in this tournament. Federer is the top seed, and on the other side of the draw is second-seeded Alexander Zverev, who continues to make big forward steps in his career. Zverev finally made the quarterfinals of a major tournament at the French Open, something he had failed to do in previous years.
The man who defeated Zverev in the French Open quarterfinals – en route to his first French Open final – is Dominic Thiem, the third seed in Halle. Thiem has struggled on grass and will try to kick-start his grass season in Germany. A semifinal would be a great result for him.
Hyeon Chung has not played in over a month. This is his return to the tennis tour. He needs match practice before Wimbledon. Kei Nishikori is also in the field in Halle. His main priority is to avoid injury, which has constantly bothered him in his career.
Gerry Weber Stadion
The facilities in Halle are state of the art. The main stadium court for the Gerry Weber Open is a 12,300-seat multi-deck stadium with a retractable roof which can close within 90 seconds to facilitate minimal interruptions of play.
