The grass court season gets underway in earnest in Germany and there looks to be a strong field assembled despite the French Open coming to its conclusion the day before the tournament starts. Most of the intrigue in Germany will centre around Roger Federer who has taken a hiatus during the clay court season and looks to return in style here on his favoured surface.
Outright Betting
The tournament organisers in Stuttgart will be delighted with the field they’ve been able to assemble so close to Roland Garros:
Here’s a look at some of our favourites for the Stuttgart title:
Roger Federer – 4/7 (William Hill) – The 20 time Grand Slam champion makes his return to competitive action in Germany and the world waits with baited breath to see if it will be as effective as it was for him last season during the grass court swing. Despite only making the change from clay to grass in 2015, Stuttgart is one of the very few tournaments to have eluded Federer and how he would like to rectify that this week.
Lucas Pouille – 6/1 (Ladbrokes) – The Frenchman is fast becoming one of the most consistent performers and arrives in Stuttgart as the defending champion. He is currently ranked number 15 in the world and will have precious ranking points to defend but he does tend to play some of his best stuff on grass and has had a decent break since Roland Garros last week.
Nick Kyrgios – 8/1 (Coral) – The enigmatic Aussie has been peppering social media of late with repeated posts about his return to fitness – which is ominous for the other players on tour. It’s easy to forget Kyrgios is only 23 years of age and he possesses such a powerful game that could cause all sorts of problems on the grass – regardless of opponent.
Hyeon Chung – 14/1 (10 Bet) – The Australian Open semi-finalist has struggled with injury problems since his heroics earlier in the year but looks fit and firing once more after sitting out the French Open. He’s a relative unknown quantity on grass but his lightening quick movement and heavy groundstrokes suggest he could be very good on the green stuff.
Here are some of the outside picks in Stuttgart this week:
Milos Raonic – 18/1 (Bet Victor) – The big-hitting Canadian has dropped to number 28 in the world but is always a real threat on grass due to his monstrous serve and forehand.
Mischa Zverev – 33/1 (Betway) – The talismanic German is always a real handful on grass with his signature serve and volley tactic being particularly effective on grass. He reached the last 8 here last year and could be handful in front of home support.
David Ferrer – 40/1 (Betfred) – Very few players have the same intensity and tenacity of the Spaniard who continues to fight week in week out on the tour despite not having much form of late. He should never be written off though in any event he plays.
Top Pick – Roger Federer – 4/7 (William Hill)
Outside Pick – Nick Kyrgios – 8/1 (Coral)