Nikolay Davydenko will be gunning to win his first Halle title as four-time champion Roger Federer announced on Monday that he will not be defending his crown in the ATP grasscourt tournament.
BERLIN: Russian Nikolay Davydenko will be gunning to win his first Halle title as four-time champion Roger Federer announced on Monday that he will not be defending his crown in the ATP grasscourt tournament.
With the world number one out, French Open semi-finalist Davydenko, who had Federer on the brink of defeat in their final four clash in Paris last week, becomes the top seed and will open against Austria's Juergen Melzer.
The world number three will be bidding to lift his eleventh career title and follow in the footsteps of compatriot Yevgeny Kafelnikov who won the last of his three Halle titles in 2002.
Federer had been expected to travel to Germany following his loss in Sunday's French Open final when Spaniard Rafael Nadal destroyed the Swiss player's historic Grand Slam dream by beating him 6-3, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.
It also shattered Federer's hopes of capturing a first French Open and become only the third man after Don Budge (1938) and Rod Laver (1962 and 1969) to hold all four Grand Slam crowns at the same time.
But in a message posted on his website, Federer said: "In an attempt to prevent injury after the long final in Paris, I cannot defend my title at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle.
"Gerry and Ralf Weber have always been so hospitable over the years and I love playing there. I look forward to returning in 2008."
The loss of Federer and Haas means now only seven of the world's top twenty will contest the 96,000 euro's (128,000 dollars) winners cheque in the tournament which has traditionally been a warm-up for Wimbledon, which starts this year on June 25.
German number one Tommy Haas, ranked 10th in the world, has also been ruled out by the shoulder injury that will keep him out of Wimbledon and local hero Alexander Waske, from nearby Frankfurt, is missing with an elbow injury.
In the first round, local favourite Nicolas Kiefer, who will make his first tournament start in over year, also faces a difficult task when he takes on last year's finalist and fourth-seed Tomas Berdych from the Czech Republic.
A nagging wrist injury sustained in the third round of last year's French Open kept Kiefer out of action for 12 months.
Philipp Kohlschreiber, winner of last month's ATP tournament in Munich and the highest-seeded German in the competition, will play Dutch qualifier Raemon Sluiter.
There is an all-American first round match when third-seed James Blake takes on Sam Querrey and there is a German clash between Florian Mayer and Michael Kohlmann.
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