The Mercedes Cup is the ATP Tour’s Stuttgart stop. This German grass-court event is a 250-point tournament, good for some fine-tuning in the weeks ahead of Wimbledon. There used to be a two-week break between the French Open and Wimbledon, but now that gap is three. The calendar change occurred in 2015, and with that came the change in this tournament – which had been played on clay – to grass. This moved the tournament to the slot the week after the French Open. Another grass-court event in nearby Halle, Germany, will be played a week later as a 500-point ATP tournament.
Although Halle is known as one of the major pre-Wimbledone events, the Mercedes Cup has seen a number of big names triumph on the lawn in Stuttgart. Legends like Ivan Lendl, Andre Agassi, Bjorn Borg and Michael Stich have all claimed a win at this event. It’s also served as the launching pad for a few careers as it was the first place that Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro won their first ATP titles.
The competition in the 28-player main draw began on Monday, June 6. The event is organized by e|motion sports GmbH Germany and presents a prize of 675,645 Euros.
Event Details
Event: Mercedes Cup
Category: ATP 250 Series
Date: June 6 – 12, 2016
Location: Tennis Club Weissenhof – Stuttgart, Germany
The 2016 Mercedes Cup is a 250-point tournament. The 250-point events on tour usually get second-level players, but Rafael Nadal won this tournament last year because he wanted to prepare for Wimbledon. This year, Roger Federer will play because he is finally a little more healthy after missing the French Open due to injury concerns. That’s an unexpected boost for the tournament.
With a prize money allotment of just over 605,000 Euros, the purse is a little bit above the standard amount for an event of this size and classification. The main benefit for the players who participate is the ability to get a feel for grass-court tennis at the start of what is always a very short grass season. The grass season is basically one month, from early June through early July, before a brief post-Wimbledon European clay season (for smaller tournaments such as 250s and 500s) and the summer hardcourt season in North America, leading up to the U.S. Open.
The points structure in a 250-point tournament offers 250 points towards the winner’s ranking. A runner-up finish is worth 150 points. A semifinal result is 90 points, and a quarterfinal appearance offers 45 points.
Former Champions and Results (5 Years)
Year Champion Runner-up Score
In 2015, the tournament was played on grass. Previous editions were played on clay
2015 – Rafael Nadal def. Viktor Troicki – 7-6, 6-3
CLAY
2014 – Roberto Bautista Agut def. Lukas Rosol – 6-3, 4-6, 6-2
2013 – Fabio Fognini def. Philipp Kohlschreiber – 5-7, 6-4, 6-4
2012 – Janko Tipsarevic def. Juan Monaco – 6-4, 5-7, 6-3
2011 – Juan Carlos Ferrero def. Pablo Andujar – 6-4, 6-0
Player Info:
Roger Federer, coming back from a multi-week injury layoff, is the top seed. Marin Cilic, Dominic Thiem, and Gilles Simon get the other byes as the top four seeds. Federer signed a two-year deal for this tournament before 2016. He is entering the tournament partly to get grass practice, partly because in a 28-person field, he gets a first-round bye, so he doesn’t invite extra stress and strain on his body. There was a time when he was the clear-cut favorite at Wimbledon but that’s not going to be the case this year. He’ll need to show well here or he’ll be someone we’ll be betting against early in London.
Feliciano Lopez, Viktor Troicki, Philipp Kohlschreiber, and Lucas Pouille round out the top eight seeds.
Argentine fan favorite Juan Martin del Potro has been given a wild card berth to this event.
Tennis Club Weissenhof
The Tennis Club Weissenhof is located in Stuttgart, German. It has been a part of this tournament since 1978. The main stadium court seats 6,500 people. Not only are there six grass courts, there is all sorts of other entertainment and festivities on the grounds.
The official hotel for the tournament is the Maritim Stuttgart. It’s one of the most popular four-star hotels in Germany that offers all of the amenities necessary for a relaxing stay. That’s why many of the players stay there, which has earned it the moniker as the “Official Players Hotel”.
