http://www.atptennis.com/lyon/newsstories/tuesdayreview.asp

On Tuesday, third seed Sebastien Grosjean lived up to the
expectations of the Lyon crowd to record a 6-1, 5-7, 6-1 win
over fellow Frenchman Cedric Pioline, who had received a wild
card into the Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon.

It was the first time Grosjean had defeated his fellow countryman
in six meetings - three of which have been played in Lyon.

"I am very happy to have won but it is difficult to play against a
friend," said Grosjean, who could run into last week's Tokyo winner
Kenneth Carlsen in the second round. "I played to the best of my
abilities today. I came into the net more often than usual and my
serve was consistent. I have to practice my serve more though."

Pioline, who was making his 12th appearance in Lyon and was a
finalist in 1993 (l. to Sampras), said: "I am satisfied with the
match. I think there is a big difference between Grosjean and
myself. I'm not in such good form, and I think Grosjean is at
the top of his game."

Opportunities


Grosjean's good friend Arnaud Clement also defeated a countryman,
qualifier Julien Benneteau, 6-4, 6-2. Clement won his career-first
ATP title in Lyon two years ago, and reached the doubles final
last year with Grosjean.

"I am very happy with the match," said Clement. "Both of us had
opportunities, but I was quick to convert mine. I love to play in
Lyon. I won my first and only title at this tournament."

Clement will now face the in-form Chilean Fernando Gonzalez for
a place in his third quarterfinal of the year. "Gonzalez has
convincingly beaten me in our previous meetings, both on hard
courts," said Clement. "Those matches were far from easy, but I
feel I am getting better and better since Davis Cup."

Feeling Good

Nicolas Escude made it to round two by overcoming Italian Davide
Sanguinetti 7-6(4) 6-1. The Frenchman's next opponent will be the
winner between Fernando Meligeni and No. 2 seed Yevgeny Kafelnikov.

"I am feeling very good," said Escude. "I am very happy with the
way I played today. I hit the ball very hard and made only a few
mistakes."

Last week in Moscow the Frenchman came back from an abdominal injury
that had kept him out of action for three months. That did not
prevent him from reaching the quarterfinals, defeating Roland
Garros champion Albert Costa in the opening round.

"I am very happy to be back on the court, competing again. My
abdominal injury has completely recovered so I am feeling great
on court."

Defending champion Ivan Ljubicic had to fight hard to get past
French qualifier Gregory Carraz 6-4, 5-7, 7-5. Next up for the
No. 8 seeded Croatian is another qualifier, Kristian Pless of
Denmark. "I think I am playing much better now than last year -
like much, much better," said Ljubicic. "But last year, I came
here with a lot of confidence, playing a final the week before
and beating Guga [Kuerten] in the first round. It is a little bit
of a different feeling this year. I feel like a much better player
now, but that doesn't mean that I am going to win the tournament
again."