Arnaud Clément (French pronunciation:[aʁnoklemɑ̃]; born 17 December 1977) is a French former professionaltennis player andDavis Cup captain. Clément reached the final of the2001 Australian Open and achieved a career-high singles ranking of world No. 10 in April 2001. He also had a career-high doubles ranking of No. 8. He won fourATP singles titles (Lyon 2000,Metz 2003,Marseille 2006,Washington 2006), and twelve doubles titles including2007 Wimbledon, partneringMichaël Llodra, and twoMasters titles.
He was the FrenchDavis Cup captain from 2013 to 2015.[1]
He turned professional in 1996, and achieved his career highlight at the2001 Australian Open, reaching the men's singles final, where he was defeated byAndre Agassi in straight sets.[2] En route, Clement defeated the then-unseeded future world No. 1,Roger Federer,[3] and the former world No. 1,Yevgeny Kafelnikov.[3]
In March 2006, Clément ended his two-and-a-half-year period of not winning anATP singles title by capturing theMarseille Open, defeating world No. 2, Rafael Nadal, in the semifinals andMario Ančić in the finals.[6] In August 2006, Clément won his firstATP title in the United States, defeating Murray in straight sets in the final of theLegg Mason Tennis Classic.[7]
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,[8] thus winning his first Grand Slam doubles title (Llodra had won two previous titles withFabrice Santoro, making it his third Grand Slam title). He and Llodra were ecstatic, and celebrated by throwing their shirts, rackets, and towels into the crowd.
In July 2008, Arnaud Clément andRainer 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.[9]
In June 2012, Arnaud Clément formalized his retirement from professional tennis at the age of 34, after a 16-year career.[10]
While playing, he often wore abandana 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 unilateralcoloboma, 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[citation needed], 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 singerNatasha Thomas. The advert was directed and shot byBruno Aveillan.
Clément has been in a relationship with French pop singerNolwenn Leroy since 2008.[11]
France
Andre Agassi
Jonathan Erlich
Wayne Black
Nenad Zimonjić
Pat Rafter
Sjeng Schalken
Fernando González
Rainer Schüttler
Mario Ančić
Andy Murray
Daniel Nestor
Nenad Zimonjić
Max Mirnyi
Uros Vico
Dominik Hrbatý
Jaroslav Levinský
Mahesh Bhupathi
Chris Haggard
Jonas Björkman
Mark Knowles
Mariusz Fyrstenberg
Julian Knowle
Olivier Rochus
Sergi Bruguera
Nicolás Lapentti
Yevgeny Kafelnikov
Novak Djokovic
