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| Arnaud Clement will be playing in his 10th French Open this year. He has twice made it as far as the last 16, but what fans may remember him best for are the two "nearly" moments. He was two points away from beating eventual tournament winner Andre Agassi in 1999, and staged a thrilling comeback to earn three match points before falling short against Alex Corretja in 2002. "Cle" enjoys playing in front of his home crowd and inevitably raises his game at Roland Garros. | | | | Ivan Ljubicic rarely seems to find his rhythm in Grand Slam tournaments, but he finally broke his semi-final duck in reaching the last four here a year ago, an achievement that means the Croat has a lot of ranking points at stake this year. His victory over Julien Benneteau in the quarter-finals last year proved that he will not be overawed by the partisan local fans. | |
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| Clement has failed to set the world alight on clay this season, his only result of note being a recent win over Czech Radek Stepanek in Hamburg. As a result he should be reasonably fresh, but lacking a little in confidence. | | | | Ljubicic has been even more of a disappointment on clay this year. With a mere two wins in three tournaments, his record belies his world No.7 ranking. His match against Richard Gasquet in Monte Carlo was a classic, but it was the Frenchman who emerged victorious. About the only silver lining for Ljubicic at the moment is that he is injury-free… | |
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| Speed, stamina and a little bit of extra pop are what a player needs to be successful on clay, and Clement has all three of these attributes, though his strength can occasionally let him down. He is a battler who loves playing in front of his home crowd and is not afraid of going the distance over five sets. | | | | Ljubicic demonstrates an iron fist in a velvet glove. His service is among the best on the circuit and is the key to his game. He is also an adept baseliner, particularly on the forehand, and is clever enough to vary his backhands. His height (1.93m) may help his service, but it can also prove his downfall in terms of mobility on a slow surface such as clay. | |
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| Clement will need to return well if he is to stand a chance. He must be prepared to bide his time, defend solidly and choose the right time to counterattack. The former Australian Open finalist will also need to make a high percentage of his first serves because his opponent will look to attack his second service at every opportunity. | | | | Ljubicic will look to start strongly against an opponent who has a reputation for easing his way into long matches. The Croat knows his serve is superior to that of his opponent and will hope to exploit Clement’s relative weakness in that department. Very much the favourite here, Ljubicic will expect to take the initiative by keeping rallies short where possible. He is more than capable of dominating from the net. | |
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| Ljubicic leads 5-2, having lost the first two matches between the pair before winning the last five. | | | | They have met twice on clay, first in the Davis Cup in Metz back in 2004, when the Frenchman prevailed 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-4. In Rome in 2004, it was Ljubicic who edged past Clement in a third set tie-break, 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (3). | |
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