TENNIS:Simon beats Monfils in Marseille final

Fifth-seeded Gilles Simon claimed his 12th career title after coming out on top of a tense three-set battle with fellow Frenchman Gael Monfils in the Marseille Open final on Sunday (Monday AEDT).

Simon withstood 11 aces from Monfils and five breaks of serve before he proved the strongest in the tiebreak to win 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7/4).

The 30-year-old Simon became the second most titled French player in the Open era, only trailing former French Open winner Yannick Noah, who amassed 23 titles during his career.

Simon did not seem too tired following his three-set win over Sergiy Stakhovsky in the semi-finals and stood up to the long rallies that punctuated the match.

Simon, who lifted the trophy for the second time after winning in the coastal city in 2007, also capitalised on Monfils's 54 unforced errors to win in 2 hours and 29 minutes as his opponent's poor record in ATP tournament finals did not improve.

The 28-year-old Monfils has now lost 17 of the 22 finals he has contested, and his last title came more than one year ago in Montpellier.

Simon will lead France against Germany in their Davis Cup first round match next month while Monfils, who did not drop a set before the final and came two points away from victory in the 12th game of the third set, has decided to skip the tie to reduce his schedule.