Paris - French wild card Arnaud Clement rallied to beat Feliciano Lopez of Spain 6-7 (8), 7-6 (7), 6-3 in the first round of the Paris Masters on Monday.
Clement didn't face a single break point and served 22 aces in extending his winning record against Lopez to 3-1. Clement also beat the Spaniard in the first round last year.
“On a three-setter or a five-setter, I believe I never reached that figure,” Clement joked about his 22 aces. “I also had a good percentage on first serves, and this helped me many times.”
Jarkko Nieminen advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Xavier Malisse of Belgium. The Finn will play eighth-seeded Andy Roddick.
Roddick is among the six players bidding for the three remaining spots for the season-ending ATP World Tour Finals which will be decided at the Palais Omnisports. Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer, Fernando Verdasco, Mikhail Youzhny and Jurgen Melzer are the other contenders.
Having already booked his ticket for the event, top-ranked Rafael Nadal said the shoulder injury that forced him out of the Parisian tournament won't prevent him from playing in London from November 21-28.
Nadal was eliminated in the round robin phase at last year's ATP Finals after losing his three matches without winning a single set.
“I will have a special motivation, and I'm going to give everything I can to play well here,” Nadal said. “I want to improve the image of last year. I'll try to win.”
Lopez hit 30 aces but made three consecutive double faults to drop serve in the second game of the decider.
“The most difficult thing was to stay focused, to maintain the same intensity and to try not to lose my own serve,” said Clement, who will next play Verdasco. “That, I did well, I believe.”
Clement is bidding for a doubles spot in the France team which will play the Davis Cup final against Serbia in Belgrade from December 3-5.
“Well, I have some experience in Davis Cup. I remember we went to the final in 2001 and 2002. So I'm quite calm about being selected,” Clement said after claiming only his second Tour win since the US Open.
Against the Serbs, Clement could team up with doubles specialist Michael Llodra, who reached the second round by defeating Potito Starace 6-4, 6-1.
Former finalist Radek Stepanek also advanced with a 6-2, 6-0 thrashing of Michael Russell of the United States, while Benjamin Becker of Germany beat Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan 6-4, 6-4.
Fabio Fognini of Italy came back from a set down to win 7-5, 3-6, 6-4 over Michael Berrer of Germany. Fognini next plays Ferrer. - Sapa-AP