Last year Jo-Wilfried Tsonga capped a stellar season with his first ATP title in the Thai capital.

Tsonga out hit Novak Djokovic to gain revenge for that year’s Australian Open final and now a year later he will be favourite to win here again. Such were the high standards Tsonga set in 2008, this season has been a little disappointing for those who know what he can achieve.

A quarter-final in Melbourne and a win over Federer in Toronto have been his best achievements. He has been consistently up there with the top players but there’s been nothing spectacular this year and he has been somewhat eclipsed in the heavy hitting stakes by Del Potro and Verdasco.

Tsonga feels confident about his chances though as for once, he’s injury free. “I’m in good shape. Last year I was just starting my comeback after surgery. This year I’m good and that is the difference.”

With Nadal out of the way and no other top eight players in the field, Tsonga’s closest challenger next week could be compatriot Gilles Simon. However Simon has had a fairly average year and will probably slip down the rankings quite a lot this autumn. Sam Querrey looks like a dangerous dark horse for the title but don’t rule out Marat Safin or Fabrice Santoro, both making their final appearances here before retiring at the end of October.