Tsonga, Berdych favourites in Marseille

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be out to defend his Open 13 crown when the tournament gets underway in Marseille on Monday. The charismatic 28-year-old Frenchman claimed his second Open 13 title last year after overcoming Tomas Berdych in three sets in the final of the ATP 250 event. Tsonga, however, returns home on the back of a disappointing straight-sets defeat to Marin Cilic in the second round of the Rotterdam Open. Despite his loss to the in-form Croatian, Tsonga, who is seeded third for the tournament, will draw confidence from the fact that five of his 10 career titles have come on French soil. Top-seeded Czech and last year's finalist Berdych will also make his way back to Marseille for another year. Berdych, a semi-finalist at this year's Australian Open, enters the event on the back of a good run at the Rotterdam Open which saw him dispose of Nicolas Mahut and Jerzy Janowicz, who will feature in the French city. The towering Pole will be looking to replicate his run at the Open Sud de France earlier this month. Janowicz progressed to the semi-finals in Montpellier before crashing out to Frenchman Richard Gasquet, who lost out to compatriot Gael Monfils in the decider. Gasquet, seeded second in Marseille, is back in France eager to claim an 11th ATP career title. Rounding out the seeds are Latvian Ernests Gulbis, Italian Andreas Seppi, Ivan Dodig of Croatia and France's Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Meanwhile, Australian young gun Thanasi Kokkinakis, who made his Davis Cup debut against France at the beginning of February, will make the trip to Marseille after being granted a wildcard.