ATP Gerry Weber Open 2012: Preview, Start Time and Schedule

The Gerry Weber Open is traditionally the event that takes place immediately following the French Open.

This year is no different, and the 20th annual Gerry Weber Open will showcase Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal, world No. 3 Roger Federer, Czech star Tomas Berdych and a number of solid players all vying for an ATP World Tour 250 win.

Defending champion Philipp Kohlschreiber will be doing his best to repeat in his home country, while Nadal is looking to build on his French Open momentum and get a win on the outdoor grass courts.

Let’s take a look at the tournament info and make a prediction on who will be victorious.

Where: Halle, Germany

When: Monday, June 11 through Sunday, June 17  

Start Times: 12:00 noon (local time) on Centre Court and Court 1

Live Scoring: Live-Scortenn.com

Monday, June 11 Schedule

Centre Court

12:00 noon – C.-M. Stebe (GER) vs. C. Berlocq (ARG)

followed by – M. Youzhny (RUS) vs. R. Haase (NED)

followed by – D. Brown (GER) vs. P. Kohlschreiber (GER)

followed by – M. Raonic (CAN) vs. P. Petzschner (GER)

Court 1

12:00 noon – J. Nieminen (FIN) vs. L. Kubot (POL)

followed by – T. Kamke (GER) vs. Z. Zhang (CHN)

followed by – T. Haas/A. Waske (GER) vs. J. Brunstrom/P. Marx (SWE/GER)

Prediction

After Rafa’s thrilling victory at Roland Garros on Monday, he’s going to ride that momentum into the finals for a matchup against Roger Federer.

Federer and Rafa have one of the greatest rivalries in tennis history and have faced off 28 times, with 19 of those matches coming in the final round of a tournament.

Nadal holds an 18-10 advantage in the series and is 13-6 with a championship on the line. However, Federer has a 2-1 lead over the Spaniard in rare grass court meetings.

The Swiss star will build on that and make it 3-1 when he wins the 2012 Gerry Weber Open, a tournament he traditionally dominates. It will be his sixth singles title at the event.