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With the clay-court season now a thing of the past, it is time to get ready for grass-court season at the Gerry Weber Open.

The tournament features some of the best tennis players in the world, although Roland Garros champion Rafael Nadal has decided to withdraw from the event to rest. Still, Roger Federer will be on hand, as well as a few other top-15 players.

Here is a look at everything you need to know about the event, which is the first step for many players on the road to Wimbledon.

Where: Halle, Germany

When: June 10 - 16

TV: Tennis Channel

Live Stream: Tennis TV

Prize Money: € 683,665

TV Schedule (via TennisChannel.com)

Preview

The first name you notice when you look at the draw is Roger Federer. The legend has an 87.3 winning percentage on grass in his career and is always a threat to win any tournament. 

However, he was beaten in the finals of this event last year in straight sets by Tommy Haas. The German is coming off a strong performance to reach the quarterfinals at Roland Garros and should be tough to beat in this one.

As an interesting twist, Federer and Haas are playing together in the doubles draw, so it would be an intriguing match if these two faced each other in the semifinals.

Also on the top half of the bracket is Milos Raonic and Gael Monfils, who face each other in Round 1. Raonic is one of the best servers in the game, but Monfils showed this month that he is playing as well as ever.

Either one is capable of giving Federer or Haas a run for their money in the earlier rounds.

On the other side of the draw, Richard Gasquet should have a relatively easy time advancing. The biggest challenge will be from Philipp Kohlschreiber, who reached the finals of this tournament two years ago.

Mikhail Youzhny could also be a sleeper to go deep after running into some tough competition in recent weeks.

Predicted Winner: Roger Federer

As strong as this field is, it is hard to go against the favorite on his best surface. Federer continues to play well as he gets up there in age, and his finesse game will do well on the grass court.

With only 28 players in the bracket, there will be few easy matches. However, his quarterfinal exit at the French Open gave him plenty of time to rest and prepare for the upcoming tournament.

There will be a number of strong challenges, but Federer's talent and experience will help him win it all in Germany.

Follow Rob Goldberg on Twitter for the latest updates.