Yevgeny Kafelnikov was the defending champion but lost in the first round to Karol Kučera.
Roger Federer won in the final 6–1, 6–3 against Nicolas Kiefer.[1] This tournament marked the beginning of Federer's dominance on grass courts; he remained undefeated on the surface until the final of Wimbledon in 2008. Federer's subsequent 65-match winning streak on grass remains the longest tour-level winning streak on the surface for a male player in the Open Era.[2] It was the first of a record ten singles titles won by Federer in Halle.[3]
A champion seed is indicated in bold text while text in italics indicates the round in which that seed was eliminated.