AFP

Clement wins first ATP-level match in in five months

Tue, 20 Oct 16:03:35 2009

STOCKHOLM (AFP) - French veteran Arnaud Clement won his first ATP-level match since Roland Garros as he broke a losing streak lasting almost five months with a 6-4, 6-2 defeat of German Andreas Beck at the Stockholm Open Tuesday.

Former Australian Open finalist Clement, ranked 138, turned the tables on his bad luck in dramatic fashion Tuesday with the upset of the fifth seed after qualifying into the field at the Kungligahallen.

Clement's season had been a huge disappointment since winning his French Open first round against Russian Dmitry Tursunov, with the 31-year-old falling in seven matches since that success on May 27.

Clement is playing this week for the first time in a month after going out in the Metz opening round as a lucky loser to Serb Janko Tipsaravic.

The Frenchman's win was his eight of the season against 17 defeats and left Beck, the Gstaad winner on clay in August, standing 22-20.

The number 37 German, at fifth the only seed on court during Day two, saved a pair of match points in the penultimate game but eventually fell to Clement's overwhelming superiority on the day.

The winner broke three times while saving the only two break points he faced. He next plays either German Michael Berrer, a fellow qualifier, or rising Finn Henri Kontinen, the 19-year-old who lost the Wimbledon junior final in 2008.

 

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