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U.S. OPEN

August 31, 2010

Arnaud Clement

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

A. CLEMENT/M. Baghdatis
6-3, 2-6, 1-6, 6-4, 5-7

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. First of all, you were playing out there in tremendous heat, five setter. Talk about the match a little bit.
ARNAUD CLEMENT: First of all, it was very difficult to play with the heat. And not especially at the end of the match. In the first set it was -- after when we were playing on the baseline, after two, three, four shots with burning, legs was burning, so it was very difficult, and so it was different game.
So I tried to be very aggressive, to have short points. My start was okay. After, it was very bad for two sets, and better and better and better with the more intensity at the end of the fourth and the fifth set.
Was maybe the best tennis at the end for me. So it was a very good feeling.

Q. You had maybe not particularly good results coming in in the US Open Series. Been able to go out, and Marcos is obviously a very good player. I mean, talk about your sort of your abilities right now. Do you feel right now like you could maybe have a run here? Just the way you're playing right now, can you just describe that.
ARNAUD CLEMENT: You know, I start my summer, my U.S. summer in Los Angeles, and play like five tournaments before coming here. I won only one match in quallies in Cincinnati, so my confidence is very, very -- was very, very low before this match.
I didn't expect anything from this match. In my mind I was -- when I went on the court, maybe I have just one percent chance to win this match. He played great in Washington, in Cincinnati, so he's in good shape. So it's gonna be very, very difficult for me.
Maybe that's why I was more relaxed on the court in my game and my shots, because for me I have no chance to win before the match. That's strange. Now it's a little bit different. Now I played my best match, that's for sure, for all the summer.

Q. One match, I mean, it sounds like it has psychologically made a big difference with you in the course of just, you know, this one match can really turn around a player's confidence?
ARNAUD CLEMENT: I hope so. I hope so. I don't know. We'll see now. Yeah, for me, it's very good result. I beat Baghdatis in Grand Slam. It's very good result. He played good before.
But now it's just the first round, and I lost so like five matches, and only my second win of all through the summer. So it's not fantastic record.
So I want to wait and see what's gonna happen next match, and I hope it's gonna be good like the fourth and fifth set.

Q. I remember your run here in 2000, and it's really hard to believe that that was actually 10 years ago. But you had some tremendous experiences at this tournament and out on center court. Do you still think about that run? Does that help you at all, even though it's 10 years later? Can you reflect a little bit about that.
ARNAUD CLEMENT: Yeah, but it is not only this one time. I played good for four years in a row in here. I did second week four years in a row, so I know I can play good here.
I like to play US Open also because it's faster than any of the other tournaments in U.S. and much better for my game. So the courts are very fast compared to Toronto. Toronto is not U.S., but compared to Toronto, New Haven, Los Angeles, and Washington. So for my game it's much better.
So when I'm coming here I know it's gonna be better for my game, even if I didn't play good before.

Q. You talked a moment ago about heat. Do you think there should be a heat policy for the men like they have for the women?
ARNAUD CLEMENT: I don't think so.

Q. Why not?
ARNAUD CLEMENT: No. It's part of the game. It's part of the game.
There is a heat policy in, I don't know, when we were playing in the Australian Open. But I don't know. No, some players like to play when it's hot. Like some players like to play indoor, on clay, on grass.
Some players play better than others physically, so I think it's good for the game to have different conditions to play. If we are playing every time with on the same surface with the same balls, it's good for couple players but not for everybody. So I think it's part of the game completely.

Q. So should men have it or not?
ARNAUD CLEMENT: No. That's my point. I'm against this rule.

Q. It's been a good day for French tennis today so far.
ARNAUD CLEMENT: Yeah.

Q. Is there anything you'd like to say about that to French fans?
ARNAUD CLEMENT: No. No, it was nice. A lot of French fans was on the Armstrong for me today, and it was a nice feeling to be in U.S. with a lot of support. So it was -- especially when it's very difficult to play, when it's physically difficult, when you have support it's something a little plus. So it's good.

Q. You seem to be a liberal user of hair gel. I remember Mahut at Wimbledon, he played 11 hours...
ARNAUD CLEMENT: I don't have hair gel.

Q. You don't?
ARNAUD CLEMENT: It's wax. (Laughter.) Totally different. I can move my hair. (Laughter.)

Q. I remember Mahut at Wimbledon didn't move the whole time.
ARNAUD CLEMENT: What's the question? (Laughter.)

Q. Are certain players, is there a station in the locker room, the wax station, for your hair?
ARNAUD CLEMENT: No, no.

Q. Why do some guys use it and some guys not?
ARNAUD CLEMENT: I don't know. Why you going to a hairdresser or are you going to take a shower? It's not really a question, so -- no, like when I'm like this and Mahut like want to put his hair, everybody -- you like your haircut?

Q. So-so right now.
ARNAUD CLEMENT: So-so, yeah. You're right.

Q. Maybe I can borrow your wax.
ARNAUD CLEMENT: Yeah, to be a little bit longer.

End of FastScripts

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