[irishface]

Awww, shucks.

We used to have to draw crappy old shoes and stuff in art at school. When I think about it, it's amazing I stuck with it. LOL I've never been able to paint, though. Maybe Arnaud can give me some help?

[Via]

lol... that's another idea for nono fans... i should go look for some old drawings of shoes, boots etc and ask him to sign for me

thought seb's the one with a shoe fetish ??? gee those frenchmen.....

saw a bit of how arnaud lost to fabrice in the RG highlights ... it surely didn't look like any love lost at the net in the end...

[Tricky_Forehand]

Originally Posted by Via

saw a bit of how arnaud lost to fabrice in the RG highlights ... it surely didn't look like any love lost at the net in the end...

That's what I thought. I think that NoNo would've preferred meeting him with a punch

[irishface]

Originally Posted by Tennis724

That's what I thought. I think that NoNo would've preferred meeting him with a punch

I'd have paid cold, hard cash to see that.

[Marine]

In l'equipe magazine there are some accounts made by some mothers of sportmen (it's mother's day tomorrow)
There is a touching article about Arnaud made by his mum.
It's long, I put the most interesting.

Arnaud Clement a un hibou tatoué sur la peau, symbole, dans la mythologie grecque, de la force melée à la sagesse. La force pure, il l'exprime sur le court, la sagesse, elle lui fut expliquée Marie-Michelle, mere omispresente, catechiste au college du sacre coeur d'Aix en Provence: "un homme, pour etre equilibré, doit savoir nourrir son corps son intelligence et sa spiritualité. A Rome, Arnaud a recontré le Pape. Il a demandé à être baptisé en 5eme. J'ai toujours dit à mes enfants: "la religion, c'est comme l'entrainement, si on ne donne pas un peu de son temps à l'eglise, on oublie l'essentiel"
...
"Arnaud aime qu'on le regarde et qu'on l'aime. Au début je m'occupais de tout, je le suivais partout. Les entraineurs en avaient assez de me voir ! Certains pensaient qu'Arnaud ne pourrait pas sortit seule du circuit pro car il avait toujours été trop dans les jupes de sa mere. Mais j'avais l'impression d'etre la seule à pouvoir l'aider, le proteger."
Sa vois se fait plus basse au moment d'evoquer la raison essentielle de son omnipresence qui les lie: "Tout petit, Arnaud a été gravement malade. On ne savait pas s'il allait s'en sortir. Pendant un an , je n'ai pas erreté de le surveiller. Une infirmière m'a dit: "Vous ne pouvez plus rien faire pour lui, il n'y a que lui qui puisse se battre pour sa vie". Quand votre enfant a un anet qu'on vous dit ça, c'est traumatisant. Arnaud a survécu. Je ne sais pas s'il a survécu parce qu'il était fort ou s'il est fort maintenant parce qu'il a vaincu sa maladie".
Elle dit que son lool glamour et ses "shows" sur le court ne sont que des paravents qui cachent sa nature timise, sobre et classique. Et que le plus grand bonheur qu'il lui a fait, au delà de sa finale en australie, ce fut un jour de 98 a toulouse. "ce jour là il jouait contre sebastien grosjean, à la fin du match, devant tout le monde il a pris le micro et a dit: "avant toute chose, bon anniversaire a ma maman". J'etais en larmes. Pour ce mot il a vaincu sa timidité, c'était enorme pour moi".
...

Touching account.
I didn't know arnaud had been very sick when he was a baby. Now I understand why he's always as brought up by his mother.

[Tricky_Forehand]

Originally Posted by irishface

I'd have paid cold, hard cash to see that.

same here

[esther]

omg that is soo sweet...i cant believe he almost died as a baby!! just when we thought we knew everything there was to know about him...

thats interesting i thought he was baptised as a baby, not when he was already that old.

[Via]

....

want me to feel sorry for that racquet smashing, kids bashing, spoilt little mummy's boy called nono ??

alright now, don't cry, silly baby

go play some tennis... he usually wants revenge after a bad disappointment. that usually means grass, after roland garros.

[esther]

lol via

[Via]

esther - exams aren't over any time soon?

arnaud will play german wildcard waske in the first round. he's also entered the doubles with russian youzhny (no other frenchie in sight) guess the good old foe will do for now...

[esther]

i've got exams this week then a French SAC the week after...u dont have sacs in sydney tho do u...its like a small exam thing that actually counts towards the ENTER score. Scary

neway Youzhny hey?!! intttteresting...

[stephB]

i like it very much that arnaud will play with mikhail. i never expect both together. so great good luck for both...

[irishface]

A million thanks for sharing that Marine! Such a sweet story.


edit - quick translation -

Arnaud Clement has an owl tattooed on his skin. Owls are symbolic of strength with wisdom in Greek mythology. The strength, he expresses on the court, wisdom, it was explained to him by Marie-Michelle, his omnipresent mother, catechist with the College of the Sacred Heart of Aix in Provence: "a man, in order to be balanced, must nourish his body, his intelligence and his spirituality. In Rome, Arnaud met the Pope. He asked to be baptized at 5. I always said to my children: "religion is like training, if you do not give a little of your time to the church, you forget the basics"...

"Arnaud likes that he is looked at and that he is liked. In the beginning I dealt with everything, I followed him everywhere. The trainers had enough of me! Some thought that Arnaud could not go alone on the pro circuit because he had always been tied to his mother's apron strings. But I felt that I was the only one able to help him, the protector." She recalls the essential reason of her constant presence which binds them: "When he was very small, Arnaud was seriously ill. We didn't know if he was going to make it. For one year, I did not leave him. One of the nurses said to me: "You can't do any more for him, only he can fight for his life". When your child has that and that is said to you, it is traumatising. Arnaud survived. I do not know if he survived because he was strong or if he is extremely strong now because he overcame his disease ".

She says that his glamour and his "shows" on the court are only the folding screens which hide his timid, sober and traditional nature. And that his greatest happiness, beyond the final in Australia, was one day in 98 in Toulouse. "this day he played against sebastien grosjean, at the end of the match, in front of everyone he took the microphone and said: "first of all, happy birthday to my mum". I was in tears. In these words he overcame his shyness, it was enormous for me ".



Nono beat Alex Waske 6-1, 6-4 (I think)

[Via]

thanks irish... you got the right smiley, it's such a tear-jerker not something i go for .......

he'll meet popp in the next round, (i think too?)

[Marine]

Arnaud beat Popp 7/6 6/2. In the next round...Federer !