OPEN DE MOSELLE
METZ, FRANCE October 4, 2003
Clement, Gonzalez Battle for First Title of Year
Chile's Fernando Gonzalez and France's Arnaud Clement will meet in the
final of the inaugural Open de Moselle in Metz with the same goal. Both
will be looking to win their first ATP title of 2003.
Gonzalez, who led Chile to a memorable ATP World Team Cup victory in
Duesseldorf in May, hammered Romanian Andrei Pavel, 6-3, 6-4. The Chilean
is playing his first indoor event of 2003 and first event since losing in
the first round of the Brasil Open three weeks ago. After that loss he
practiced hard in Buenos Aires with coach Horacio de la Pena, who's here
with him this week.
Clement needed just 67 minutes to beat fellow Frenchman Fabrice Santoro,
6-2, 6-1, for the first time in three career meetings. Clement, who saved
three crucial breakpoints at 2-2, 0-40, in the first set against Santoro,
is through to his second ATP final of 2003 after losing to Sjeng Schalken
at 's-Hertogenbosch in June.
The Frenchman is looking to win his second career ATP title after Lyon
in 2000. Clement has had a solid season in 2003 despite a right wrist
injury that kept him out of the circuit until March. He could not play
tennis with his right hand so he kept in shape by playing left-handed
and even entered a national tournament in France playing with his left
hand!
Clement is here with his coach Remi Barbarin, father Henri (who shaved off
his moustache when his son won the Lyon title in 2000) and girlfriend
Camille Pin, a WTA player.
WHAT THE PLAYERS SAID
Arnaud Clement: "The goal is not to reach the final but to win it. The most
important match is the final. I've won only one title in my career and lost
four finals so I'm very hungry. Lyon 2000 feels like a long time ago..."
"(Fernando) is very unpredictable. He can hit the first serve at 110 kmh and
the second at 220...He's one of the hardest hitters on the circuit."
About the semifinal: "It was a strange match, Fabrice was probably tired from
his matches this week and I played solid tennis right from the beginning. I
did not give him any chances. I'm really happy because I've played four
different kinds of players this week and adapted well to all styles."
About the French success in Tokyo, Moscow and Metz this week: "There's a
lot of talent in France, a lot of very good players that can have great
results. The season had not been very good but now we're picking up again."
Fernando Gonzalez: "I got here on Friday before the tournament so I
had time to get used to the court. It's hard indoors and slow so I like it.
It's my first indoor event of the year and this gives me a lot of confidence
for the rest of the season. I'm lucky that I play well on all surfaces, maybe
only grass I have to work on..."
About Clement: "We've played everywhere! He's very fast, has a great return
of serve and his backhand is very dangerous. But I feel confident if we play
from the baseline."
About his game: "My serve is getting better and better and so are my ground
strokes, especially my backhand is improving a lot."
"It's better if my opponents do not know what I do next on court...I surprise
them all the time. And, hey, I like my game!"
Fabrice Santoro: "It was close at the beginning but then he was better than
me. I was relatively fresh after all my matches this week but I was rushing
too much at the end, I should have been more patient. It's been an excellent
week though, semifinals in singles and now I play the doubles final."
FRENCHMEN MAKE HISTORY IN DOUBLES
For the first time in the Open era, four French players will contest the
doubles final of an ATP event. Top-seeded Michael Llodra and Fabrice Santoro
take on wild cards and childhood friends Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut.
Llodra/Santoro have qualified for the year-end Tennis Masters Cup in Houston
as one of the Top 8 doubles teams. They won the Australian Open in January
and were finalists at the Tennis Masters Series events in Monte Carlo and
Rome. Benneteau/Mahut, both coached by Alain Solves, upset the second-seeded
team of Gaston Etlis and Martin Rodriguez in the first round on the way to
their first ATP final. They won four challenger titles in their career
including their last two events in 2003 (Bronx, St. Jean de Luz)
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"L'avenir du rock a un nom : Muse" (Les inrockuptibles)
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