Nearly a local patriot: Frenchman Gilles Simon did his training for six years at the GERRY WEBER BreakPoint-Base in Halle with Coach Jan de Witt. Now he will play for the first time at the GERRY WEBER OPEN. But because the Main Field is so strong and first-class, the Wimbledon-Quarter-finalist of 2015 and former Top-Ten-player has to go through Qualifying. First, he will meet the Uzbek Denis Istomin, who has just beaten Philipp Kohlschreiber in Stuttgart.
Next to Simon the Croatian big-serving Ivo Karlovic is another well-known player. The 39 year old reached the Semi-finals at the GERRY WEBER OPEN in 2015, in which he was beaten by Roger Federer. His first opponent is Slovak Lukas Lacko. From a German point of view it is Dustin Brown who the fans can look forward to see playing. The Rastaman's spectacular style of play promises pure tennis entertainment. Browns first hurdle is Italian Matteo Berrettini. Brown has fond memories of the lawn in Halle. Here he once beat Rafael Nadal. Co-patriot Matthias Bachinger received a Wild Card and meets Canadian Vasek Pospisil in the first round of the Qualifying. Yannick Maden, too, joins the Field by way of a Wild Card and meets Russian Evgeny Donskoy.
