On his favorite surface and without being impressive, the defending champion and favorite for the title, Rafael Nadal, eliminated Arnaud Clément on Tuesday in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4. Quickly leading in the first set 3-0 with two breaks, the Spanish player, seeded number 2, took cover from the always tenacious player from Aix. He fears him. He is wary of this opponent, against whom he lost this year at the Open 13 in Marseille. His endurance, tenacity, and the extra shots he forces: Clément remains always Clément, a player against whom one must always stay focused. The saying goes “a match is never over until the referee declares ‘game, set, and match’”, and this is even truer when facing the French player with colorful headbands. Indeed, Arnaud Clément quickly got back into the game and challenged the Iberian bull. He became more offensive, retreated less, found his first serve, and closed the score to 3-2 then 4-3. The man from Provence even earned two break points. Nadal did not panic and controlled and won the first set.
The second set was even tighter. The Frenchman led 2-0. The Spaniard raised his level of play and tied the score at 2 games each. The contest was balanced, but in the eighth game, the player from Aix cracked. Weighed down by the heaviness of Nadal’s balls or perhaps slightly overdriven, Arnaud Clément, after a fight where he tried to match blow for blow, finally lost his service at 4-4, allowing the young Spaniard to qualify for the second round. This match was a true clash of styles. The audience savored it. Power and precision against subtlety. Arnaud Clément seemed both so close and yet so far. He fought, but Rafael Nadal appeared in control of the match. At the end of the match, one might think that Nadal is beatable. Is he still feeling his foot injury? Is it his lack of competition? Answers in the following rounds and starting today against the Monegasque Jean-René Lisnard.
Mathieu eliminates Safin and Grosjean qualifies
Eight consecutive winning games and the fate of the match between Paul-Henri Mathieu and Marat Safin was almost sealed. Despite a rebellion from the Russian in the second set, the diligent Frenchman brilliantly qualified (6-0, 7-5) for the second round where he will meet the Argentine Guillermo Coria, one of the tournament’s favorites, who easily defeated Mikhail Youzhny.
Sébastien Grosjean, once again the French number one, had the delicate task of facing a Spaniard, Fernando Verdasco, recent semi-finalist in Valencia. Sébastien Grosjean struggled to emerge victorious from this match against this left-hander with a thunderous forehand. Clumsy but serene, the Frenchman managed to take the Spaniard to a tie-break in the first set and turned the situation around in it. Trailing 3 points to none, he eventually won it 8-6. In the second set, Verdasco seemed to suffer from his right thigh, and the Marseille player dominated the debate. He varied his shots, and without being a great Grosjean, who was making his first appearance this season on clay and who had been suffering from back pain just a week ago, concluded the match with a 6-3 in the second set.
On the French side:
– Elimination of Fabrice Santoro against Tomas Berdych, Nicolas Mahut against Potito Starace, and Arnaud Clément.
– Qualification of Gilles Simon, Florent Serra, Sébastien Grosjean, and Paul-Henri Mathieu.
We also note the qualifications of two Monegasque players, Jean-René Lisnard against Andy Murray and especially Alexandre Balleret who eliminated Belgian Christophe Rochus. Jean-René Lisnard will have the honor of facing Rafael Nadal in the second round, and Alexandre Balleret will be opposed to Sébastien Grosjean.
Other qualifiers include David Ferrer, Fernando Gonzalez, Dominik Hrbaty, Feliciano Lopez, Ivan Ljubicic, and Robin Soderling, the surprise victor over Nikolay Davydenko.
Schedule of the main matches for Wednesday:
– Seppi vs Nalbandian
– Mathieu vs Coria
– Federer vs Martin
– Lisnard vs Nadal
– Llodra vs Kiefer
– Grosjean vs Balleret
– Ferrero vs Chela
