Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Marseille, France (Sports Network) - Australian Open champion Novak Djokovic and heavy French crowd favorite Richard Gasquet were among the Day-3 winners, while Aussie Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France went by way of the first-round upset at the $1.125 million Open 13 tennis event.
The top-seeded Djokovic, of Serbia, handled Croatian qualifier Ivan Dodig 6-1, 6-4, while the second-seeded Gasquet bested Italian Simone Bolelli 6-3, 6-3 on the indoor hardcourt at Palais des Sports. The world No. 3 Djokovic captured his first-ever Grand Slam title last month in Melbourne.
Djokovic will meet reigning Marseille champion Gilles Simon on Thursday, while Gasquet will take on Swede Robin Soderling.
A seventh-seeded Tsonga, meanwhile, succumbed to capable Croatian wild card Mario Ancic 7-5, 7-6 (7-3).
Third-seeded Russian Mikhail Youzhny avoided an upset by downing Croat Marin Cilic 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), but another upset came when France’s Nicolas Mahut knocked out fifth-seeded Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (7-1) in the day’s lone second-round affair.
The aforementioned Simon won his sixth straight match at this event by dousing French wild card David Guez 6-2, 6-4. The French Simon titled here a year ago by upsetting Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis in the finale.
In other opening-round play, French wild card Michael Llodra got past Italian Andreas Seppi 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) and 6-foot-10 Croat Ivo Karlovic overcame Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 6-7 (6-8), 7-5, 7-6 (7-4).
The 2008 Marseille titlist will collect $125,000.
Source: Tsonga upset at Open 13
