The world number seven continues to come under pressure in the chase for a spot at the end-of-season event, but knows a repeat of his 2012 triumph in Sweden would see him edge closer to a spot in London.
Berdych is making his fifth appearance at the ATP 250 event and has a bye through to the second round, which will give him more time to recover from his exertions at the Shanghai Masters.
A quarter-final place was as much as Berdych could muster in China before Gilles Simon knocked him out in three sets.
The Czech now holds a 195-point advantage over Milos Raonic, who occupies the eighth and final qualifying place in the Race to London. Marin Cilic is only 45 points ahead of Berdych in a tightly-contested battle, while David Ferrer, Andy Murray and Grigor Dimitrov are outside the top eight but not far behind.
Dimitrov is the defending champion in Stockholm and the second seed will face the winner of Alejandro Falla and Teymuraz Gabashvili's first-round match.
Last year's triumph in this event provided Dimitrov with his first ATP Tour win and he has gone on to pick up a further three titles in 2014.
However, the Bulgarian has struggled on the hard courts this year and has not progressed past the quarter-final stage of a tournament since the Rogers Cup in August.
A debut appearance at the World Tour Finals remains a possibility for Dimitrov if he can manage a strong end to the season, starting with 250 points in Sweden. The 23-year-old is 300 points behind Raonic at present.
With Andy Murray opting to play in the Vienna Open, Alexandr Dolgopolov has been named as the fourth seed, while Kevin Anderson also receives a bye into the second round despite not winning a match in Stockholm since 2011.
Dologpolov will meet either Marcos Baghdatis or Adrian Mannarino in round two, while Anderson could face Bernard Tomic, should the latter beat wildcard Patrik Rosenholm.