Top seed Andrea Petkovic will be aiming to atone for her 2013 disappointment at the Nurnberger Versicherungscup as she heads this year's field.

Petkovic reached the final of the WTA International clay-court tournament two years ago, only to lose in straight sets to Simona Halep.

World number nine Petkovic has a bye in the first round but will be looking to get matches under her belt before the French Open after pulling of the Madrid Open in the second round ahead of a clash with Irina-Camelia Begu due to illness.

However, Petkovic should be confident of putting together a string of strong performances having won four of her six WTA titles on clay.

She will face the winner of Kiki Bertens' first-round clash with Yaroslava Shvedova in the second round but will have plenty of competition for the title from a number of compatriots.

World number 11 Angelique Kerber also has a bye in the opening round and will be eager to return to form following a first-round exit at the hands of Samantha Stosur in Madrid.

Kerber could face a tough all-German encounter in the second round providing Annika Beck comes through her meeting with a former top-20 player in Klara Koukalova.

Sabine Lisicki, who also fell in the first hurdle in the Spanish capital, opens against Silvia Soler-Espinosa in a tournament that will serve as the players final preparations prior to the start of the second grand slam of the year at Roland Garros.