Veteran Clement replaces Monfils in Hopman Cup

PERTH, Australia: Veteran Frenchman Arnaud Clement will replace Gael Monfils as Tatiana Golovin's playing partner at the mixed teams Hopman Cup, starting here on Saturday.

And in a further Hopman Cup development, it was announced here yesterday that American drawcard Serena Williams would make a late start to the event due to illness.

Williams will not arrive in the Western Australian city of Perth in time to partner Mardy Fish in the Americans' opening tie in the tournament against Indians Sania Mirza and Rohan Bopanna on Saturday.

The world No 7 will be replaced by the 52nd-ranked Meghann Shaughnessy.

There had been concern over Williams' attendance at the tournament because of recent injuries, but she has assured organizers she will arrive in Perth over the weekend.

Under Hopman Cup rules, player substitutions are allowed beteween ties.

The 21-year-old Monfils succumbed to a knee problem and was forced to withdraw from the tournament, making him a doubt for next month's Australian Open.

The big-hitting Monfils, who has battled several injuries during his short career, cited tendonitis in a knee for his withdrawal.

Although seeded fourth for the Hopman Cup, the French duo of Golovin and Monfils had been given a strong chance of upsetting the top-seeded Serbian duo of Novak Djokovic and Jelena Jankovic.

However, the wily Clement is no stranger to Australian conditions.

The Swiss-based 30-year-old was an Australian Open finalist in 2001 and played at the Hopman Cup in 2002.

Clement is ranked 54th in singles, but won his first Grand Slam doubles title this year and is ranked 14th in the world in doubles, with the mixed doubles a crucial part of the unique Hopman Cup format.

France, which took part in the inaugural Hopman Cup in 1989, is yet to win the tournament in 14 attempts.

The French open their Hopman Cup campaign on Sunday against the Argentine pairing of Gisela Dulko and Juan Ignacio Chela.

Joining the French and Argentine teams in Group A are the Serbians, along with the Chinese Taipei team of Su-Wei Hsieh and Yen-Hsun Lu.

AFP

(China Daily 12/27/2007 page24)