Arnaud Clément
Arnaud Clément is a retired tennis player and former captain of the France Davis Cup team. He reached the final of the 2001 Australian Open and achieved a career-high ranking of world No. 10 in April the same year. Partnering with Michael Llodra, he won Wimbledon in 2007 and two Masters 1000.
Life and career
Clément was born in Aix-en-Provence to Henri Clément and Maria Michel. He began to play tennis at the age of seven with his older brother Bruno, who later became his coach. His grandmother is Lebanese. He currently lives in Geneva, Switzerland.He turned professional in 1996, and achieved his career highlight at the 2001 Australian Open, reaching the men's singles final, where he was defeated by Andre Agassi. En route, Clement defeated the then-unseeded future world No. 1, Roger Federer, and the former world No. 1, Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
While playing he often wore a bandana and sunglasses. The sunglasses have been medically prescribed for Clement because of severe eye problems he has encountered through his life, which had nearly left him blind as a child. At only 13 months old, he was diagnosed with unilateral coloboma, meaning the condition only affects one eye, at that time Clément was only given a 40/60% chance of having healthy eyesight for the rest of his life, throughout his tennis career Clément has worn sunglasses to protect his eyes.
Clément was selected to represent one of the world's best-known and most important fashion labels, Lacoste. He was seen from May 2004 onwards in a pan-European print and TV campaign alongside the Danish pop singer Natasha Thomas. The advert was directed and shot by Bruno Aveillan.
Clément has been ranked as high as world No. 10 in singles and as high as world No. 8 in doubles, where he has often partnered with fellow Frenchmen Sébastien Grosjean and Michaël Llodra. He has won four ATP singles titles, and twelve doubles titles including Wimbledon.
Throughout his career, he has beaten top players such as Andre Agassi, Patrick Rafter, Carlos Moyá and more recently Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.
Until 2010, Clément held the record for the longest match in the history of the Open Era. At Roland Garros 2004, Fabrice Santoro defeated Clément 6–4, 6–3, 6–7, 3–6, 16–14 in six hours and 33 minutes. John Isner and Nicolas Mahut would eventually beat this record six years later at Wimbledon.
In March 2006, Clément ended his two and a half-year period of not winning an ATP singles title by capturing the Marseille Open, defeating world No. 2, Rafael Nadal, in the semifinals and Mario Ančić in the finals. In August 2006, Clément won his first ATP title in the United States, defeating Murray in straight sets in the final of the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.
In July 2007, Arnaud Clément and Michaël Llodra won the men's double title at Wimbledon, beating world No. 1 and top seeds defending champions, Bob and Mike Bryan, thus winning his first Grand Slam doubles title. He and Llodra were ecstatic, and celebrated by throwing their shirts, rackets, and towels into the crowd.
In July 2008, Arnaud Clément and Rainer Schüttler, both in their early 30s, played against each other in a Wimbledon quarterfinal singles match. Because of rain delays and darkness, play was suspended over a period of two days. Eventually, the match went in favour of Schüttler. The match went five sets and over five hours combined within the two playing days. The fifth set's score was 8–6. Finishing in five hours and twelve minutes, it was the third longest men's singles match in Wimbledon history.
In June 2012, Arnaud Clément formalized his retirement from professional tennis at the age of 34, after a 16-year career.
He's the French Davis Cup captain since 2013.
Clément is in a relationship with French pop singer Nolwenn Leroy since 2008.
Significant finals
Grand Slam tournament finals
Singles: 1 (1 runner-up)
Doubles: 2 (1 title, 1 runner-up)
Masters 1000 finals
Doubles: 2 (2 titles)
ATP career finals
Singles: 11 (4 titles, 7 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Opponent | Score |
| Loss | 0–1 | 1999 Open 13 – Singles| | Open 13, France | International | Hard |  Fabrice Santoro | 3–6, 6–4, 4–6 |
| Win | 1–1 | 2000 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Singles| | Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, France | International | Carpet |  Pat Rafter | 7–6, 7–6 |
| Loss | 1–2 | 2001 Australian Open – Men's Singles| | Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia | Grand Slam | Hard |  Andre Agassi | 4–6, 2–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 1–3 | 2002 Ordina Open – Men's Singles| | Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands | International | Grass |  Sjeng Schalken | 6–3, 3–6, 2–6 |
| Loss | 1–4 | 2003 Ordina Open – Men's Singles| | Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands | International | Grass | Sjeng Schalken | 3–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 2–4 | 2003 Open de Moselle – Singles| | Open de Moselle, France | International | Hard |  Fernando González | 6–3, 1–6, 6–3 |
| Loss | 2–5 | 2003 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Singles| | Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, France | International | Carpet |  Rainer Schüttler | 5–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 3–5 | 2006 Open 13 – Singles| | Open 13, France | International | Hard |  Mario Ančić | 6–4, 6–2 |
| Win | 4–5 | 2006 Legg Mason Tennis Classic – Singles| | Washington Open, United States | International | Hard |  Andy Murray | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Loss | 4–6 | 2007 Nottingham Open – Singles| | Nottingham Open, United Kingdom | International | Grass | Ivo Karlović | 6–3, 4–6, 4–6 |
| Loss | 4–7 | 2010 Heineken Open – Singles| | Auckland Open, New Zealand | 250 Series | Hard | John Isner | 3–6, 7–5, 6–7 |
Doubles: 22 (12 titles, 10 runner-ups)
| Result | W–L | Date | Tournament | Tier | Surface | Partner | Opponents | Score |
| Win | 1–0 | 2000 Grand Prix Hassan II – Doubles| | Grand Prix Hassan II, Morocco | International | Clay | Sébastien Grosjean | Lars Burgsmüller Andrew Painter | 7–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 1–1 | 2001 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Doubles| | Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, France | International | Carpet | Sébastien Grosjean |  Daniel Nestor Nenad Zimonjić | 1–6, 2–6 |
| Win | 2–1 | 2002 Open 13 – Doubles| | Open 13, France | International | Hard | Nicolas Escudé | Julien Boutter Max Mirnyi | 6–4, 6–3 |
| Loss | 2–2 | 2004 AAPT Championships – Doubles| | Adelaide International, Australia | International | Hard | Michaël Llodra | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 5–7, 3–6 |
| Win | 3–2 | 2004 Pacific Life Open – Men's Doubles| | Indian Wells Masters, United States | Masters | Hard | Sébastien Grosjean |  Wayne Black Kevin Ullyett | 6–3, 4–6, 7–5 |
| Win | 4–2 | Open de Moselle, France | International | Hard | Nicolas Mahut | Ivan Ljubičić Uros Vico | 6–2, 7–6 | |
| Win | 5–2 | 2004 St. Petersburg Open – Doubles| | St. Petersburg Open, Russia | International | Carpet | Michaël Llodra |  Dominik Hrbatý Jaroslav Levinský | 6–3, 6–2 |
| Loss | 5–3 | 2005 Medibank International – Men's Doubles| | Sydney International, Australia | International | Hard | Michaël Llodra |  Mahesh Bhupathi Todd Woodbridge | 3–6, 3–6 |
| Loss | 5–4 | 2005 Milan Indoor| | Milan Indoor, Italy | International | Carpet | Jean-François Bachelot | Daniele Bracciali Giorgio Galimberti | 6–7, 7–6, 6–4 |
| Loss | 5–5 | 2006 Ordina Open – Men's Doubles| | Rosmalen Championships, Netherlands | International | Grass |  Chris Haggard | Martin Damm Leander Paes | 1–6, 6–7 |
| Win | 6–5 | 2006 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Doubles| | Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, France | International | Carpet | Julien Benneteau | František Čermák Jaroslav Levinský | 6–2, 6–7, |
| Loss | 6–6 | 2007 If Stockholm Open – Doubles| | Stockholm Open, Sweden | International | Hard | Michaël Llodra |  Jonas Björkman Max Mirnyi | 4–6, 4–6 |
| Win | 7–6 | 2006 BNP Paribas Masters – Doubles| | Paris Masters, France | Masters | Carpet | Michaël Llodra | Fabrice Santoro Nenad Zimonjić | 7–6, 6–2 |
| Win | 8–6 | 2007 Open 13 – Doubles| | Open 13, France | International | Hard | Michaël Llodra |  Mark Knowles Daniel Nestor | 7–5, 4–6, |
| Win | 9–6 | 2007 Wimbledon Championships – Men's Doubles| | Wimbledon, United Kingdom | Grand Slam | Grass | Michaël Llodra | Bob Bryan Mike Bryan | 6–7, 6–3, 6–4, 6–4 |
| Win | 10–6 | 2007 Open de Moselle – Doubles| | Open de Moselle, France | International | Hard | Michaël Llodra |  Mariusz Fyrstenberg Marcin Matkowski | 6–1, 6–4 |
| Loss | 10–7 | 2008 Australian Open – Men's Doubles| | Australian Open, Australia | Grand Slam | Hard | Michaël Llodra |  Jonathan Erlich Andy Ram | 5–7, 6–7 |
| Win | 11–7 | 2008 Open de Moselle – Doubles| | Open de Moselle, France | International | Hard | Michaël Llodra | Mariusz Fyrstenberg Marcin Matkowski | 5–7, 6–3, |
| Win | 12–7 | 2009 Open 13 – Doubles| | Open 13, France | 250 Series | Hard | Michaël Llodra |  Julian Knowle Andy Ram | 3–6, 6–3, |
| Loss | 12–8 | 2009 Open de Moselle – Doubles| | Open de Moselle, France | 250 Series | Hard | Michaël Llodra | Colin Fleming Ken Skupski | 6–2, 4–6, |
| Loss | 12–9 | 2009 Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon – Doubles| | Grand Prix de Tennis de Lyon, France | 250 Series | Hard | Sébastien Grosjean | Julien Benneteau Nicolas Mahut | 4–6, 6–7 |
| Loss | 12–10 | 2010 PBZ Zagreb Indoors – Doubles| | Zagreb Indoors, Croatia | 250 Series | Hard |  Olivier Rochus | Jürgen Melzer Philipp Petzschner | 6–3, 3–6, |