GSTAAD, Switzerland, 17 July 2006 — France’s Richard Gasquet claimed his second title in three weeks yesterday with a 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 win over Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in the final of the Swiss Open.

It was Gasquet’s third career title, following his triumph at the Nottingham Open in the run-up to Wimbledon where he was beaten by world No. 1 Roger Federer in the first round.

Gasquet had to contend with some impressive serving from the hard-hitting Lopez but was frequently able to outplay and outrun his opponent with a clever variety of shots.

Robredo Destroys Davydenko for Swedish Open Win

In Bastad, Sweden, Tommy Robredo demolished Russian top seed Nikolay Davydenko 6-2, 6-1 to win the Swedish Open yesterday.

It was the fourth career title for the Spaniard and the second this year after his triumph in the Hamburg Masters in May. “I did what I had to do,” Robredo told reporters. “Normally you don’t expect to beat a guy like him 6-2, 6-1, but finals are sometimes like this. If one guy plays really well then the other one can get frustrated.”

Murray Upset by Gimelstob at Newport Semis

American Justin Gimelstob advanced to his first career final with a 6-1, 7-6 (7-4) upset of top seed Andy Murray in the semifinals of the Hall of Fame Tennis Championships on Saturday. A rising star from Scotland, Murray beat a pair of Americans on Friday — Sam Querrey and Robert Kendrick — in the $380,000 grasscourt event at Newport Casino. However, he fell short in an effort to become the first top seed to win this event in its 30-year history.

A professional since 1996 who never achieved his promise, the eighth-seeded Gimelstob took advantage of an all-out effort that included a number of tumbles to the ground in plays at the net to set up a match-up with Australian wild card Mark Philippoussis.

The hard-hitting Philippoussis also ended a dubious slump Saturday, reaching his first final in nearly three years with a 6-7 (2-7), 6-2, 6-0 victory over No. 6 Jurgen Melzer of Austria.

Earlier Saturday, Patrick Rafter, Gabriela Sabatini and long-time tennis journalist Gianni Clerici were inducted to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. The 24th Australian to be inducted, Rafter won consecutive US Opens in 1997-98 and held the top ranking in the world. In a 12-year career, he was 358-191 with 11 singles titles. As a doubles player, Rafter won 12 titles, including the 1999 Australian Open with partner Jonas Bjorkman. He also was 21-11 in Davis Cup play from 1994-2001. Sabatini is the first Argentine woman in the Hall of Fame, following compatriot Guillermo Vilas, who was inducted in 1991.