STUTTGART, June 02, 2015

Tommy Haas has arrived in Stuttgart in order to start his preparation for the first edition of the Mercedes Cup on grass.

Haas, who had to undergo his fourth surgery at his right shoulder in June last year, wants to return to the courts at the ATP 250 event taking place from June 6 to June 14. The total prize money for this year’s Mercedes Cup will be € 642,070 and the tournament’s champion will also receive a brand new Mercedes Benz.

“I was feeling physically well for a couple of time, but I didn’t have the feeling to be competitive at the highest level,” Haas told on Tuesday in Stuttgart. “But now I feel that the shots have returned to my game. The time has come to return to the tour in order to play matches,” the 37-year-old said. Before coming to Stuttgart, Haas had played in Munich the last couple of days with his coaches Alexander Waske and Christian Rauscher.

Tommy Haas on Tuesday in Stuttgart (photo: Mercedes Cup)

“To come back, playing on grass is perfect. I am really looking forward to the tournament, after the long break I had to take. It is really impressive to see what has happened here. It was the right decision by the organizers to switch the surface from clay to grass. There a lot of positives for the tournament, as you can see when you have a look at this year’s entry list with Rafael Nadal, Marin Cilic and many more top players,” told Haas, who captured 15 titles on the ATP World Tour during his career. Two of them came on grass, winning in Halle in 2009 and 2012. After the press conference Haas had a practice session on centre court with fellow countryman Michael Berrer.

Tommy Haas practicing at the TC Weissenhof (photo: Mercedes Cup)

Tournament director Edwin Weindorfer announced that the local fans can enjoy a “Deutschland Tag” on Tuesday, June 9. “Tommy Haas, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Benjamin Becker and Alexander Zverev will step into action and are hoping for great support from the spectators,” he told.

Obviously Rafael Nadal will be tournament’s main attraction. “Nadal is in top form and has played a fantastic tournament at Roland Garros so far,” Weindorfer said. “For the final stages of the tournament on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, we still have a total amount of 1,200 tickets. If the positive trend continues, these three days will be sold out.”