TENNIS in DEPTH.

Gilles Simon had an unhappy return to the ATP World Tour as he crashed out in the first round of the Open 13 in Marseille today.

The Frenchman was playing in his first tournament of the year after recovering from a knee injury he aggravated in November.

Fifth seed Simon, who spent much of last year ranked in the top 10 but is now down at 16th, had a tough opener against Olivier Rochus and the Belgian proved too strong, coming through 7-5 6-2.

The French home fans were able to celebrate three victories today, though, with lucky loser Josselin Ouanna leading the way.

The 23-year-old, who beat Marat Safin at last year’s French Open, took advantage of his second chance courtesy of Christophe Rochus’ back injury to beat Denis Istomin 6-4 1-6 6-3.

Ouanna next faces second seed and defending champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who received a bye in the first round.

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• Tsonga out of Valencia, and London ATP final.
• 5 Frenchmen into the final 8 at Lyon.
• Youzhny upsets 3rd. seed Simon to advance.

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Gilles Simon is the latest star signing on to start his 2010 season in Brisbane.

The 24 year old will join compatriot Gael Monfils, former No.1 Andy Roddick and crowd favourite James Blake in the men’s draw.

Confirming his attendance at the Brisbane International today, Simon said he was excited to be travelling to Brisbane in 2010 and cannot wait to see what the city has to offer.

“I have heard quite a lot from my friends on the tour about the Brisbane International,” Simon said.

“They have told me that it is a great tournament, a fantastic place to visit and that the people are very friendly.

”With the same court surface as the Australian Open, the new stadium and facilities and temperatures similar to that in Melbourne, I cannot wait to start my 2010 campaign at the Brisbane International.”

Brisbane International Tournament Director Steve Ayles said Simon will be a great addition to the tournament in January.

“Simon has won six career titles and has been a finalist on two other occasions. He was also a quarterfinalist at the Australian Open in 2009,” Ayles said.

“Simon will be a welcome addition to the men’s draw at the Brisbane International and I look forward to seeing him in action in January.”

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A current champion and former No.1 round out an exciting line-up for the World Tennis Challenge 2010.

Gilles Simon and Mats Wilander have been announced as the final two players to complete the field for World Tennis Challenge 2010.

Simon, currently No.12 on the ATP World Rankings, will represent the Europe team with French compatriot Henri Leconte. Simon started 2009 ranked sixth in the world and has maintained a top 10 position for the majority of the year, only recently falling to 12. He is currently the second-ranked Frenchman behind Australian Open Finalist Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Rounding out the field and partnering Radek Stepanek in the Internationals Team is 2009 World Tennis Challenge tennis legend and crowd favourite Mats Wilander.

“Simon has had an incredible last 18 months including a long time now in the top 10. We have a quality field coming to Adelaide and a good mix of entertainment and top level tennis.”

 The complete field for the 2010 event is:

Australasia Pat Cash Bernard Tomic

Europe Henri Leconte Gilles Simon

International Mats Wilander Radek Stepanek

The Americas John McEnroe Robby Ginepri

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• Giles Simon has a shaky return to the tour.
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• Tsonga out of Valencia, and London ATP final.

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Fifth-seeded Gilles Simon of France defeated Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 to become the first player to reach the quarterfinals.

In another first-round match, Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia topped Victor Hanescu of Romania 6-4, 6-3.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired in the first round of the Valencia Open on Wednesday because of a wrist injury while trailing 6-7 (3), 6-0, 3-0 to Mikhail Youzhny.

The third-seeded Frenchman had dropped nine straight games before quitting with the left wrist problem. Tsonga had dominated the tiebreaker by using a drop shot and an ace to take a 5-2 lead before clinching the first set when Youzhny returned wide. The loss and the subsequent failure to gain much needed points has effectively spoiled any chance Tsonga may have had of claiming one of the remaining two vacant spots in the Barclays London ATP final.

Verdasco is currently occupying the last of the eight qualifying places for the prestigious end-of-season tournament in London later this month, which features the top players from 2009.

And the Spaniard had an easy time of things in his first-round match in Valencia against Oscar Hernandez, losing only two games before his opponent retired with Verdasco leading 6-1 0-1.

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• 5 Frenchmen into the final 8 at Lyon.

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Juan Monaco was a high-profile casualty in the second round of the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon on a day which saw five Frenchmen book their places in the quarter-finals.

French wildcard Michael Llodra was on fine form as he beat the fourth-seeded Argentinean 6-3 6-4, joining the top two seeds in the last eight.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the top seed, beat Belgium’s Olivier Rochus 6-3 6-2, while Gilles Simon was a 6-1 6-2 winner over compatriot David Guez.

The sixth and seventh seeds did fall, however, in the shape of Paul-Henri Mathieu, who lost 6-4 6-0 to another Frenchman, Marc Gicquel, and Germany’s Benjamin Becker, who fell 6-4 6-3 at the hands of French wildcard Arnaud Clement.

Third seed Ivan Ljubicic beat Nicolas Kiefer of Germany 6-3 3-6 6-3.

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Jo-Wilfried Tsonga came through a tough battle against fellow Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the second round of the Rakuten Japan Open in Tokyo on Thursday.

Second seed Tsonga dropped the first set but turned the match around in the second set and went on to triumph 4-6 6-2 6-2.

“The conditions were very tough today,” said Tsonga on www.atpworldtour.com. “I don’t like to play in the wind.

“Richard plays well in the wind because he was born in the south of France and it is always windy there.

“I think my serve made the difference today. I was also happy for staying calm in the difficult moments of the match.”

Tsonga, chasing his third title of the season, next faces qualifier Ernests Gulbis, who was leading Juan Monaco 6-3 4-1 when the Argentinian retired.

Defending champion Tomas Berdych had few problems brushing aside Andreas Beck 6-4 6-1.

“I have never defended a title before so I am hoping this can be the first time,” said the Czech fifth seed. “I really like playing in Tokyo.”

Berdych will meet Russia’s Mikhail Youzhny in the quarter-finals. Youzhny upset third-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon 7-6 (7/5) 6-7 (5/7) 6-4 in a match lasting more than two and a half hours.

Australian eighth seed Lleyton Hewitt survived a battle with veteran Fabrice Santoro, eventually prevailing 3-6 6-3 6-1, to set up a last-eight meeting with another Frenchman, qualifier Edouard Roger Vasselin.

The world number 189 followed up his victory over US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro in the first round by fighting back to beat Austria’s Jurgen Melzer 4-6 6-2 6-3.

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• Giles Simon has a shaky return to the tour.
• 5 Frenchmen into the final 8 at Lyon.

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Giles Simon looked to be coming into form at just the right time as he captured his first ATP World Tour title of the season at the PTT Thailand Open Sunday. The Frenchman defeated fourth seed Viktor Troicki 7-5, 6-3 in the final of the ATP World Tour 250 hard-court tennis tournament in Bangkok.

As champion, Simon received 250 South African Airways 2009 ATP Ranking points, boosting his chances of qualifying for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. Just three places remain for the eight-man season finale, to be held at the O2 Arena in London, 22-29 November.

Simon had been the only player in the Top 10 of the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings to be without an ATP World Tour title this season coming into his debut appearance in Bangkok.

“It feels really good because it’s never easy to win a tournament, even when you’re one of the top seeds at the tournament,” said Simon. “I had four good matches to play, I won it and I guess it’s very nice because it’s the first one of the season.

“It was really nice (to play in Bangkok for the first time). The people here are amazing. The crowd was cheering for me in every match. I think that if I manage to win here the first time I come it’s because I was feeling really good because of them.”

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• Simon to meet Troicki in Thailand Open final.
• Giles Simon has a shaky return to the tour.
• Giles Simon to start 2010 season in Brisbane.

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