Gasquet claims Nottingham win

Double-defending champion Richard Gasquet celebrates his 21st birthday by safely moving into the second round.

Double-defending champion Richard Gasquet celebrated his 21st birthday on Monday by safely moving into the second round of the Nottingham Open grass court tournament.

The French world number 12, seeded first at the warm-up event for next week's Wimbledon championship, had few problems beating American Vince Spadea 6-3 6-4.

"Spadea is never easy to play against," said Gasquet, who has a special liking for Nottingham having won his first ATP title there on his 19th birthday.

"I am really happy to get my first win here, especially with it being my birthday. It is a special day for me."

It was a good day for France all round as Sebastien Grosjean beat fifth seeded Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty 6-3 6-4 and Gilles Simon beat Andrei Pavel 6-2 4-6 6-4.

Briton Tim Henman joins the fray on Tuesday against American Michael Russell.