The British No1, twice a beaten finalist, will play the winner of the first-round match between French teenage sensation Richard Gasquet and South African Neville Godwin.
The tournament has attracted a host of top names, including world No1 Lleyton Hewitt, who is looking to complete a hattrick of Stella titles, British No2 Greg Rusedski and former champions Philippoussis, Todd Martin and Wayne Ferreira.
But out-of-form seven-times Wimbledon champion Pete Sampras is missing the event to play in Germany instead.
Meanwhile, Spain's Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario, twice a runnerup at Wimbledon, has pulled out of this year's event at SW19 with extreme exhaustion.
