Roger Federer’s grass confidence still growing ahead of Halle three-peat bid

“Of course I’m surprised at how well I played here in Halle and also in Wimbledon last year,” top seed Federer said.

“It was always a dream to play such good tennis on grass or even be able to play on a grass court.

Kohlschreiber has never beaten Federer in eight career meetings, four of which have been on grass – three at Halle alone – but the German did win the title here in 2011.

A potential grudge match awaits Federer in the second round, as the Swiss could face Sergiy Stakhovsky – the Ukrainian who stunned Federer at Wimbledon in 2013.