NOTTINGHAM, England — Fourth-seeded Ivo Karlovic successfully defended his Nottingham Open title today with a 7-5, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (8) victory over Fernando Verdasco.

Rain forced the final of the grass-court Wimbledon warmup to be played indoors.

Karlovic and the third-seeded Verdasco both squandered match points in the tense third-set tiebreaker. But, after a Verdasco double fault, Karlovic claimed the trophy with a gentle volley.