The Gerry Weber Open in Halle features Tomas Berdych, Gael Monfils, and Viktor Troicki on Tuesday.
There are eight first round matches on Tuesday at the Gerry Weber Open with a pair of former champions and five Germans leading the way on Stadium.
In the first match, last year’s semi-finalist Philipp Petzschner takes on fellow German Dominik Meffert, a lucky loser, for the first time. Petzschner did not drop a set en route to the semi-finals last year (l. to No. 2 Federer) while Meffert is a lucky loser for the second straight year. One year ago he came in and defeated No. 17 Juan Carlos Ferrero in the first round before losing in the second round to Lukas Lacko in three sets.
In the second match, wild card Dustin Brown takes on No. 6 seed and top German Florian Mayer, who won both previous Challenger meetings on clay in 2009. Brown is making his main draw debut in Halle while Mayer returns for the first time in four years. Mayer is putting together his best season on the ATP World Tour with a 27-14 match record and he enters ranked a career-high No. 18.
In the third match, Italian Andreas Seppi and 2009 Gerry Weber champion Tommy Haas, a wild card entry, meet for the second time. Haas won in straight sets in the second round here five years ago. Haas has a 19-9 career mark in Halle and he made his debut here in 1997. The 33-year-old Hamburg native is playing in his second tournament in singles after undergoing right hip and right elbow surgery last year.
In the fourth match, Belgian qualifier Ruben Bemelmans and No. 2 seed Tomas Berdych, who won the title in 2007, meet for the first time. Berdych, who also was runner-up in 2006, is 10-3 lifetime in Halle. The 23-year-old Belgian is 0-2 vs. Top 10 opponents. He lost to No. 1 Rafael Nadal in Bangkok last year and in a first round Davis Cup tie in March.
In the final match, Frenchmen Gael Monfils, the No. 3 seed, and qualifier Florent Serra, square off for the second time. In January 2010, Monfils won in three sets in the second round of Brisbane. Monfils, who is ranked a career-high No. 8 this week and coming off a quarter-final at Roland Garros (l. to Federer), is making his tournament debut. Serra is 5-23 lifetime against Top 10 opponents and he’s trying to snap a 17-match losing streak since his last Top 10 win over No. 5 Nikolay Davydenko in Amersfoort in July 2007.
On Court 1, No. 5 seed Viktor Troicki of Serbia and No. 8 Milos Raonic of Canada are in action.
