Fifth seed Michael Llodra has a tricky opener in Metz against veteran Arnaud Clement.
For a player who has enjoyed some of the best results of his career on fast indoor courts in France, Llodra has a strangely poor record in Metz. He's never been past the second round, a surprising stat for a player of his quality.
It's been an up and down 2011 season for Llodra who has enjoyed some superb results on the doubles circuit after linking up with Nenad Zimonjic at the start of the season but his singles game has suffered a little. He still managed to make the fourth round of Wimbledon and he'll be a dangerous opponent again in the big events this autumn. He stunned Novak Djokovic on the way to the Paris Masters semis last year.
Clement is in the twilight of his career but he's won all of his four previous matches with Llodra (although they have not played since 2006), beating him 7-5, 6-1 in 2003, back when he was a contender at the very top of the game.
Nowadays Clement is ranked 171 and the 33 year old can be found mainly on the challenger tour. He reached the final of the San Remy event a couple of weeks ago and comes to Metz in decent form.
Prediction: Llodra to edge this in three.
