Clement beats top seed Baghdatis in Lyon

LYON, France, Oct 24 (Reuters) Arnaud Clement thrilled the home fans by knocking out top seed Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus in the first round of the Lyon indoor tournament today.

Clement, who won the event in 2000, needed just over two hours to beat France-based Baghdatis 6-2 5-7 6-3.

After taking the first set in 28 minutes, Clement opened a 5-2 lead in the second and served for the match at 5-4.

The Frenchman then showed signs of nerves and allowed Baghdatis to win the set but he was back in control for the decisive set, building a 3-0 lead before cruising to victory.

Argentine baseliner Gaston Gaudio, the second seed, was earlier hammered 6-0 6-2 by unheralded German Simon Greul.

The 2004 French Open champion was never in contention in a surprisingly one-sided match that lasted only 55 minutes.

Reuters PDS VP0150