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Holder Gasquet cruises to victory

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Nottingham, England -- Richard Gasquet began the defense of his Nottingham Open title by defeating American Vincent Spadea 6-3 6-4.

The top-seeded Frenchman, who celebrated his 21st birthday on Monday, is seeking a third consecutive title at Nottingham -- a grass-court warmup for Wimbledon.

Gasquet fought back after dropping his serve early in the first set and was rarely troubled afterward to advance to the second round.

"Spadea is never easy to play against," Gasquet said. "I am really happy to get my first win here, especially with it being my birthday. It is a special day for me.

"I wasn't confident because I played badly last week. I had to play a great match to win. It is not easy to play against him and it's nice for me to win again here. I like the court and the atmosphere."

Gasquet lost in the first round of the grass-court tournament in Halle, Germany.

Also in the first round, Sebastien Grosjean of France beat fifth-seeded Dominik Hrbaty 6-3 6-4 and Gilles Simon of France defeated Andrei Pavel of Romania 6-2 4-6 6-4.

Ljubicic overcomes slow start

Second seed Ivan Ljubicic overcame a slow start to defeat Gael Monfils 3-6 6-3 6-0 in the first round of the Den Bosch Open on Monday.

In the woman's event, defending champion Michaella Krajicek, sister of 1996 Wimbledon champion Richard Krajicek, beat Argentina's Gisela Dulko 6-3 6-2.

Slovenian sixth seed Katarina Srebotnik was the highest seeded casualty in the women's draw when she was beaten 6-3 6-2 by German Tatjana Malek. Seventh seed Anabel Medina Garrigues was also ousted, beaten 7-6 3-6 6-3 by Elena Vesnina.

Dutchman Raemon Sluiter withdrew from the tournament for personal reasons, organisers said on Monday in a statement.

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