Former champion Mikhail Youzhny has a tough opening round draw against Philipp Petzschner.
Youzhny has a strange record in Stuttgart, he won the title on his first visit back in 2002 but for the past three years it's been a bit of a horror show for the Russian who has lost first round every time.
Youzhny has had a fairly disappointing year by his standards. He ended 2010 on a high and was even in contention for the ATP World Finals but 2011 has been a let down, particularly on clay. He reached the third round at Roland Garros but was outplayed by Albert Montanes.
However things have picked up recently for the Russian who battled through a couple of long matches to reach the fourth round where he gave Roger Federer a brief scare before falling in four sets.
Petzchner's attacking serve-volley game makes him most suited to grass courts and the faster surfaces but he has enjoyed some surprisingly good results on clay in the past. Youzhny leads 2-1 on the head-to-head but Petzschner already has a win on German clay over him this year, beating Youzhny 7-5, 3-6, 6-2 in Munich a couple of months ago.
Prediction: Youzhny to get revenge in three.
