After an extended break, Roger Federer makes his long-awaited return to the ATP Tour at the 2017 Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, Germany. R-Fed fell a bit short in claiming the title last year, but he should be very fresh and raring to go this time around. Read on below to check out which other players besides Federer have a legit shot at taking the title.
Rocking a new haircut and likely refreshed following a two-month break, the Federer Express looks primed to steamroll the competition in Germany. The Swiss master has sliced through all comers this season, where he has compiled a sterling 19-1 record.
Federer stormed through top-class opposition in Rafa Nadal, Kei Nishikori, and Stan Wawrinka en route to his titles at the Australian Open, Indian Wells, and Miami. He crashed out in the semifinals of last year’s tournament to Dominic Thiem, but with the young up-and-comer passing on this year’s event, there doesn’t seem to be an obvious impediment to Federer rolling to another win.
Grigor Dimitrov
Federer’s stiffest competition in this tournament will probably be “Baby Fed” himself, Grigor Dimitrov. The Bulgarian already has two titles to his name this season. He stormed through a murderer’s row of Thiem, Milos Raonic, and Nishikori to claim the Brisbane International, and also rolled to a decisive victory at the Sofia Open. He also went all the way to the semifinals of the Aussie Open, before falling to Nadal in five grueling sets.
However, the Bulgarian has been struggling ever since, and has failed to even make the quarterfinals in any of his last eight tournaments. And even if he does make it all the way to the final as a No. 2 seed, Federer will likely be waiting. Dimitrov is 0-5 in his career against the Swiss.
Sleepers
Philipp Kohlschreiber
Kohlschreiber has had been a mixed bag this season. He wasn’t particularly impressive during the hard-court season. He’s made it to just one final all year (at Casablanca), but subsequently won just one match in clay over his next four tournaments.
However, the German is always a legit threat to perform on grass. He’s got a 52-29 career record on grass courts, easily his best out of any surface. He also has some good history at Stuttgart. He made it all the way to the final last year, only to fall to Thiem.
Lucas Pouille
Pouille is proving last year wasn’t a fluke as he’s having another strong campaign. He won his second career title at Budapest, which followed up his semifinal run at the Monte Carlo Masters. But while the 23-year-old has shown he’s very capable on clay, he’s still got some way to go to prove himself on other surfaces such as grass.
Although, Pouille did make it all the way to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year. He will also have the advantage of being on the opposite side of the bracket as Federer, giving him a better chance of at least making the final.
Long Shot
Jeremy Chardy
It’s been a few years since Chardy has been a legitimate threat on tour. He’s having another trying campaign this season, where he’s gone 11-12 overall. He hasn’t even won a singles title on tour since 2009. But that title was actually at Stuttgart, so despite his astronomical odds, victory’s not completely out of the realm of possibility.
At the very least, he makes it to the second round since he’s 3-0 all-time against his first-round opponent, Florian Mayer. He’s currently listed as a +120 underdog in that matchup.
Writer’s Prediction
Federer returns with a bang as he sweeps away the competition to score his fourth title of the season.
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