Roger Federer, Alexander Zverev and Dominic Thiem all feature in Halle

36-year-old bids for a tenth title at the ATP 500 pre-Wimbledon tournament; Swiss player has only lost six matches from his 15 appearances.

Defending champion Roger Federer headlines the field at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle from Monday June 18 as the nine-time winner continues his Wimbledon preparations.

The Swiss great made a successful return to competitive tennis with a maiden victory at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart, where he beat Milos Raonic in the final to celebrate his return to the top of the world rankings in perfect fashion.

Federer wins maiden Stuttgart title

Roger Federer celebrated his return to the top of the world rankings by winning the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart.

The tournament which runs in parallel to the Fever-Tree Championships at Queen's Club, boasts three of the world's top-10 players including world No 3 Alexander Zverev and French Open finalist Dominic Thiem, with live coverage throughout the week on Sky Sports Arena.

There are no British representatives in the event, as British No 1 Kyle Edmund, the returning Andy Murray and Cameron Norrie all fine-tune their Wimbledon build-up in London at Queen's.

Two NextGen stars Stefanos Tsitsipas and the returning Andrey Rublev will hope to further their burgeoning reputations in the men's game while experienced campaigners Richard Gasquet, who won the Libema Open on Sunday, and Kei Nishikori also feature in the field.

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Federer, aiming for his 10th Halle title, will meet former British player Aljaz Bedene in his first round encounter with Benoit Paire or Steve Johnson a potential second-round opponent.

Did you know...

Federer won his 98th career title in Stuttgart. If he makes a successful defense in Halle he will head to Wimbledon bidding for his 100th tournament win.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion will face a stern examination if he is to win once again in Westphalia with Thiem and Zverev, who beat Federer in the 2016 semi-final, seeded to face the world No 1 in the semi-final and final respectively.

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Thiem will open his grass-court campaign against Russian qualifier Mikhail Youzhny while Zverev faces an awkward opener against world No 36 Borna Coric.

One to watch

There will be a lot of intrigue about how Thiem can build on his run to a maiden Grand Slam final at the French Open, during the grass-court campaign.

Image: Dominic Thiem will hope to replicate his clay-court form during the grass-court season

The Austrian does not hold a great record at Wimbledon - having never progressed past the fourth round - but on the evidence of his performance at Roland Garros could improve on that, if he can replicate the impact his punishing forehand and heavy first serve had.

The 24-year-old will make his fourth consecutive appearance at the tournament in Germany, with his best result coming in 2016 when he lost in the semi-finals and if he transitions quickly could head to Wimbledon with increased cause for optimism.

Image: Dominic Thiem reached his maiden Grand Slam final at Roland Garros

"I'm feeling good. I had some days off after Paris and the grass season is always lots of fun for me," said Thiem.

"Obviously, [there are] not [as many] long rallies and it is a completely different game, but I enjoy it a lot. It is not that much pressure for me like [it is] on clay, so for the head it is a little bit easier.

"I could also lose in the early rounds, so that makes it a bit tougher. But I think I improved a lot in the past [few] years. I even took a title in Stuttgart two years ago, so my goal is to do well and go deep in this tournament."

Surprise in store

Karen Khachanov possesses a strong all-round game and continues to show increased maturity on the biggest stages of the game.

Image: Karen Khachanov reached the semi-finals at Halle last year

The highly-rated Russian comes into his first grass-court appearance of the season on the back of an absorbing five-set defeat to world No 3 Alexander Zverev in the French Open fourth round.

Khachanov reached the semi-finals in Halle, losing to eventual winner Federer before he underlined his credentials on the surface with a run to the Wimbledon third round on his main draw appearance.

The world No 38 will face serve-and-volley specialist Mischa Zverev in the first round.

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We will return for more tennis coverage from the ATP Tour when we head to Germany for the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, live on Sky Sports Arena from 11am on Monday, 18 June.

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