However, in April, López Jaén qualified into his first ATP tournament, beating No. 161 Dušan Vemić in the qualifying round before bowing out to No. 27 Nicolás Almagro in the main draw in Valencia, Spain.
Jennifer Lopez | Angel | Luis Miguel | San Miguel de Tucumán | San Miguel | Angel (TV series) | Miguel de Cervantes | Touched by an Angel | Ruy Lopez | San Miguel, El Salvador | C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo | angel | Jaén | Antonio López de Santa Anna | Luis Ángel Firpo | Jaén, Spain | Criss Angel | São Miguel Island | Miguel de Unamuno | San Miguel de Allende | George Lopez | Morbid Angel | Miguel Bosé | São Miguel | San Miguel Corporation | Barry Lopez | angel shark | Omar Rodríguez-López | Miguel Indurain | Miguel Ferrer |
Miguel Ángel López Jaén and Pere Riba were the defending champions, but López Jaén chose not to compete this year and Riba chose to compete at Wimbledon instead.
In June 2008, van der Merwe qualified into the 2008 Wimbledon main draw, beating World No. 177 Miguel Ángel López Jaén, World No. 126 Kristian Pless, and World No. 246 Frédéric Niemeyer.