Montpellier, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Richard Gasquet and Gael Monfils will battle in an all-French final at the Open Sud de France tennis tournament after both were semifinal winners Saturday.
Gasquet, the top seed and reigning champion, prevailed against hard-serving third-seeded Pole Jerzy Janowicz in a pair of tiebreaks, 7-6 (8-6), 7-6 (7-4), after the fifth-seeded Monfils beat No. 6 seed Jarkko Nieminen of Finland 6-2, 3-6, 6-1 on the indoor hardcourts at Arena Montpellier.
The world No. 9 Gasquet has successfully defended a title once before in his career, winning back-to-back crowns in Nottingham in 2005 and 2006.
Monfils is also seeking a second Montpellier crown after his triumph in 2010. He failed in his previous bid as he was the runner-up at this event two years ago.
Gasquet has split his first 20 title matches, while Monfils has only won four times in 20 career finals. He was the runner-up to Rafael Nadal in the season- opening tournament in Doha and last titled in 2011.
Monfils owns a 5-4 edge against his countryman.
