Richard Gasquet will fight for the Qatar Open title after defeating Daniel Brands 7-5 7-5 in the semi-finals of the tournament in Doha.

The Frenchman cruised into the final four after overcoming Lukas Lacko in straight sets but he faced a tougher task against Brands, who held his serve and committed some damaging returns across the court.

Despite a strong tussle, it was Gasquet who clinched a vital break of serve to push on and claim the first set and take the lead.

The second set continued to go by the way of serve and while Gasquet's serve was strong, he was unable to claim a break until Brands's sixth game, which proved to be the winning point for the Frenchman.