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We pick five players to keep an eye out for at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle

Kei Nishikori plays a backhand in the half final match against Roger Federer during the Gerry Weber Open

With the ATP Gerry Weber Open starting on Sky Sports 3 on Monday 15 June, we pick five players you should keep an eye out for... other than Roger Federer.

Federer captured his seventh Halle title last year, picking up his 14th grass-court crown in the process with victory over Alejandro Falla.

He will be back to defend his title in Germany, but with the tournament being upgraded to an ATP World Tour 500-series event, the big-name stars have come out to play at the popular event.

Here, we look at five players who have the potential to challenge Federer for his crown.

Kei Nishikori

Kei Nishikori of Japan plays a forehand against Roger Federer at the Gerry Weber Open
Image: Nishikori was beaten by eventual winner Roger Federer last year

The fifth-ranked Japanese player reached the semi-finals in Halle last year before losing out to Federer 6-3 7-6 (7-4), but the US Open finalist will be back to give it another shot in the build-up to Wimbledon. Nishikori is ever-improving with nine singles titles to his name, including two this year having won in Memphis and Barcelona. He became the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam final, losing to Marin Cilic in the US Open final in 2014 having knocked out Novak Djokovic on the way. This year, he is happy to progress beneath the radar with coaches Dante Bottini and Michael Chang with the focus almost exclusively on Djokovic, Federer, Rafael Nadal and Andy Murray. Expect him to fire once again as he continues his improvement on grass.

Tomas Berdych

More from Atp Gerry Weber Open 2015

Tomas Berdych after winning the final match of the Gerry Weber Open
Image: Tomas Berdych: The Czech won the title eight years ago

The Czech player has a long history of success on grass. He won his third career ATP tour tournament while claiming his first-ever victory on grass when he won the tournament in 2007 at the age of 21. "For me it's very special to win on grass," Berdych said after beating Marcos Baghdatis in the final. "Two years ago I was saying I didn't like grass too much, so to be the champion after a tough tournament is very nice." After losing to Nadal in the 2010 Wimbledon final, the sixth-ranked player will be looking to win his first title of the year after reaching finals in Doha, Rotterdam and Monte Carlo.

Gael Monfils

Gael Monfils reacts during his match against German Tommy Haas at the Gerry Weber Open
Image: Gael Monfils: The entertaining Frenchman will be out to impress

A 2011 semi-finalist at the Gerry Weber Open, Monfils has already got into the swing of things on grass by taking part at the Mercedes Cup in Stuttgart before heading to Halle. A runner-up in Marseille earlier this year the 28-year-old is a pure entertainer and will be one to keep a close eye on. Monfils lost out to Federer in the last-16 at Roland Garros and he will be eager for a rematch against the 17-time Grand Slam champion should their paths cross.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga serves at the Gerry Weber Open in 2009
Image: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: A contender to go far in Germany

Another Frenchman determined to do well will be the huge-hitting Tsonga. He has always threatened to do well on grass and has the ammunition, but seems to flatter to deceive. Surprisingly, out of his 11 career singles titles, the former Australian Open finalist has not won a grass-court event although he reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2011 and 2012.

Dominic Thiem

Dominic Thiem in action in his Men's Singles match against Aljaz Bedene at the French Open
Image: Dominic Thiem: The young Austrian will make his Halle debut

The talented Austrian suffered a disappointing first-round exit to Germany's Mischa Zverev in Stuttgart as he made the worst possible start to his campaign on grass. Thiem, 21, won his maiden ATP World Tour title after beating Leonardo Mayer in Nice before Roland Garros and is now ranked 30 in the world. He will be participating in Halle for the first time and will be targeting a solid run as he continues his improvement under coach Gunter Bresnik.

Five reasons why you should tune in to watch the Gerry Weber Open from Halle

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