Arnaud Clement faces compatriot Nicolas Mahut for a place in the last eight of ATP Metz.
2003 champion Clement is making his ninth appearance at the Open de Moselle and the veteran former Aussie Open finalist showed there’s still some life left in the old dog by stunning fifth seed Michael Llodra 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday.
It was a difficult match for both players as they’re former doubles partners and know each other’s games so well. Llodra was competing on clay in the Davis Cup at the weekend and having been competing indoors for the past few weeks, Clement was just too sharp for him.
"It’s probably the best match of the season for me," said the Frenchman. "It’s never easy to play somebody you know by heart. I am totally aware that Micka arrived here tired and it could have been a totally different result if he was in full form. It feels good to be in the second round here."
Mahut made the Metz semis in 2007 and he eased past clay-courter Diego Junqueira 6-3, 6-2 in round one. He leads Clement 6-1 on the head-to-head though the veteran won 6-1, 7-5 when they met on the hard courts of Granby earlier this summer.
Prediction: Mahut in three.
