Gasquet to defend his Nottingham title

NOTTINGHAM, England, June 23 (UPI) -- Richard Gasquet of France will defend his title Saturday at the Red Letter Days Open in Nottingham, England.

He moved into the finals on Friday by beating Robin Soderling of Sweden, 7-6 (9-7), 7-6 (7-5), in the semifinals.

The 20-year-old Gasquet is one of only three players to beat world No. 1 Roger Federer in the past two years.

"I felt I played well," Gasquet said. "I've never won against (Soderling) before. I served well and fought a lot. It was hard, he is a great player. I think I can win the title. I have beaten a lot of great players to get here and I have a lot of confidence."

"Gasquet has a very good chance of winning this title," Soderling said. "I think he's the favorite."

The other semifinal winner was Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman, who topped Andreas Seppi of Italy, 6-3, 6-1.

Saturday's winner will earn $55,000.