Arnaud Clement upsets top seed Feliciano Lopez in first round – Orleans Challenger 2011
Feliciano Lopez of Spain squared-off against the French, Arnaud Clement, in the first round of the Orleans tournament, hosted in France, on Wednesday October 19th. It was the fifth encounter between the two players and
ironically, World no. 161 was leading the head-to-head tally with 3-1 against the World No.21.
This was the perfect opportunity for the top seed wild card entrant to reduce the deficit of head-to-head and place a berth in the next round of the tournament. The outcome was again dramatic as the French knocked-out the top seeded
in straight set in just over an hour and twenty-three minutes with a final score of 6-4 and 7-5.
Top seeded Spanish was terrific in the Shanghai Masters earlier this month as he reached the quarter-finals and lost the finalist of the tournament, World No.5, David Ferrer. He was expected to take this challenger title considering
his outstanding form but surprisingly Clement knocked him over. World No.161 was enjoying a good run of form having won seven of his last nine matches and was pumped up to pull a major upset. Sizeable crowd gathered up to witness this encounter and support
their country’s icon.
The Spanish started the proceedings with his classic power play and smashed six aces in the first set but the reply from the French was worth watching. He covered his weaknesses beautifully by capitalizing on his strong aspect
and kept an impressive success rate of first (83%) and second (58%) serve.
French saved all three breakpoint opportunities of his counterpart and won the most crucial break point to round off the game in a dashing fashion. He registered 55% total points win percentage and shocked the Shanghai Master ’11
quarter-finalist.
Lopez registered a disappointing first serve success rate of just 68% and his second serve success rate of 50% was even more heart-breaking for his fans. His inability to win a single breakpoint stunned the crowd and they were
on their feet applauding their national hero.
Trailing one set down, top seeded had to make a stunning comeback to prove his worth but unluckily his efforts went in vain as his opponent proved much more calm and composed. Some of the highlights from the second set included
four elegant aces from both the players but the guile of Clement was the best part of the match.
First and second serve impressive success rate of 81% and 69% respectively helped the local boy win the second set. Top seeded wildcard entrant did tried his best by breaking his opponent serve twice but his opponent’s timing was
tremendous as he clinched the most important break in the eleventh game and then capitalized on that with a win on his serve to wrap it in grand fashion.
This major upset has placed a dramatic draw in the second round as Clement plays Czech Jan Hajek in the second round of the tournament.
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