MELBOURNE, Australia -- He threw everything at former
champion Yevgeny Kafelnikov. Then a victorious Arnaud Clement
threw his shirt, shoes and socks into the crowd in celebration.
|  | | Arnaud Clement celebrates after winning the pivotal third set on Wednesday. |
The Frenchman set up a semifinal with compatriot, friend and
doubles partner Sebastien Grosjean with a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (3) win over the Russian fifth seed.
It ensures a Frenchman will contest the final of an
Australian Open for the first time since the legendary Jean
Borotra won in Melbourne in 1928.
It will also be only the second time two Frenchmen have
contested a grand slam semifinal since tennis went open in 1968.
In 1983 Yannick Noah beat Christophe Roger-Vasselin before going
on to win the French Open.
"I can't believe it," said Clement, the 15th seed.
"I just fought and fought. I came back and after the (third
set) tie-break I felt physically better and better and I could
run and run."
On facing Grosjean, his doubles partner in Melbourne, he
said: "It's unbelievable. We've been practicing five or six
years, we grew up together, played a lot together. To play in
the semifinals is something unbelievable."
Grosjean, the 16th seed, beat Spain's Carlos Moya 6-1 6-4
6-2 earlier on Wednesday.
The winner of their match will play either defending
champion Andre Agassi or local hero Patrick Rafter in the final.
The 23-year-old Clement simply refused to surrender against
Kafelnikov, last year's losing finalist, who led 3-0 and had a
set point in the third set.
He had three more in the ninth game of the fourth set but he
lost both sets in tiebreakers as a flood of 79 unforced errors
undid him.
Clement wears glasses but took them off early in the match
because the sweat was blurring his vision. He also struggled
with a sore left thigh, and had an injury time-out and courtside
treatment at the start of the third set.
"I had a sore right ankle before the match and maybe I
compensated a bit much, my left thigh started hurting," said
Clement.
Both Clement and Grosjean go against the growing trend in
the game of big men hitting huge serves.
Clement, who stands at just 1.73 metres, chased everything
after the Russian took the second set.
"When you are smaller like me and Sebastien you can run
faster than the tall guys," said Clement.
Olympic champion Kafelnikov, winner of the 1999 Australian
Open and runner-up to Andre Agassi last year, admitted it was a
match that had somehow got away from him.
"He kept fighting, he was down in the third and fourth set,"
the Russian said. "I let my chances slip away.
"I don't know why, but it's just one of those days where you
are trying hard but things are not going the way I want them to
go. All day I had no rhythm at all."
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