The 2016 Gerry Weber Open is bound to keep us on the edge of our seats thanks to a pretty star-studded pool of competitors. Unsurprisingly, everyone’s eyes are set on World No. 3 and defending champion Roger Federer, who is hoping to snatch his fourth-consecutive title in Halle, Germany.
Can he succeed in doing so, or will we see a new champion be crowned this time? Read on below and find out who some of the tennis experts around the internet are expecting to win it all.
For more tennis action, check out our comprehensive preview of the 2016 WTA Aegon Classic Birmingham.
2016 ATP Gerry Weber Open Expert Picks and Predictions
VAVEL
Expert
Pick
Pete Borkowski
Roger Federer
Pete Borkowski of VAVEL.com gave us a relatively comprehensive preview. He predicted his final four, which are Roger Federer, Tomas Berdych, Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori. And then among those players, Borkowski expects to see Federer and Thiem advance and provide us one hell of a showdown in the final.
In that matchup, Borkowski sees Federer getting the best out of the young, talented Austrian. The 17-time Grand Slam champion, after all, is the reigning three-time champion in Halle, and undoubtedly has the advantage in experience. Federer has several major titles under his belt and already has a total of eight Gerry Weber Open trophies. He is also the better grass-court player here, as the 34-year-old Swiss has won 86.5 percent of all his matches on grass.
It’s worth noting though, that Thiem’s beaten Federer in two of their three meetings, which all happened this year. The 22-year-old star bested the World No. 3 in Stuttgart and in the Rome Masters.
Get More Sports
Expert
Pick
Geoff Harvey
Roger Federer
Geoff Harvey of Get More Spots also thinks that Roger Federer should secure his fourth-consecutive Gerry Weber Open title. But Harvey notes that Federer’s chances of doing so will greatly depend on his overall health.
In the case that the defending champion is not in his best shape, Harvey expects Dominic Thiem, David Goffin or Tomas Berdych to make a pretty strong bid at the crown.
Thiem, as mentioned earlier, has defeated Federer in their last two meetings. He’s also probably still feeling high about his semifinals finish at Roland Garros. Goffin and Berdych, meanwhile, have both been having a solid year.
Berdych, in particular, could be the most intriguing competitor especially since he’s a former champion in Halle (2007).
Perfect Tennis
Expert
Pick
Jonathan
Roger Federer
Jonathan of Perfect Tennis is going with Roger Federer as well. But unlike the previous two experts above, he doesn’t see Dominic Thiem, David Goffin or Tomas Berdych going mano-a-mano with the 17-time Grand Slam champion in the final at Halle. Instead, Jonathan feels that it’ll be Kei Nishikori.
Nishikori’s been having a sensational year, winning 31 of his 40 matches thus far. That stretch includes a pair of finals appearances at Barcelona and at the Miami Masters. Those matches were against stronger opponents in the form of World No. 4 Rafael Nadal and Word No. 1 Novak Djokovic. There’s no doubt that the 26-year-old Japanese can put up a really good fight versus Federer or anybody else.
