Gilles Simon could not have picked a better place to win his first ATP title.

The unseeded Frenchman gave the home crowd a thrill as he won his maiden career title with a 6-4 7-6 (7-3) victory over seventh-seeded Marcos Baghdatis in the final of the Marseille Open on Sunday.

Simon lost his only previous appearance in a championship match in Valencia, Spain, last April.

This time he controlled most of the match and responded when Baghdatis rallied in the second set.

Simon broke the Cypriot in the fourth game of the second set to take a 3-1 lead.

He extended the advantage to 5-2 before Baghdatis won the next three games and eventually forced a tie-break.

Baghdatis, who won the Zagreb Open two weeks ago, was playing in his second straight final but he was unable to come up with his third career title.