Updated

Former top-five star Ivan Ljubicic of fought opening-round winner on Day 1 at the Open 13 tennis event.

The seventh-seeded Ljubicic, the 2005 runner-up in Marseille, held off French wild card Florent Serra 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-3 on the indoor hardcourts at Palais des Sports.

An upset came when Flavio Cipolla took out eighth-seeded fellow Italian Andreas Seppi 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), while one other result saw France's Edouard Roger-Vasselin vault past Finnish veteran Jarkko Nieminen 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).

This week's top seeds are 2009 Marseille champion Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France and American star Mardy Fish.

Swede Robin Soderling, who is not defending his title this week, topped Croat Marin Cilic in last year's finale.

The newest Marseille champion will collect $120,000.