| Thursday, 3 July 2008 Written by Drew Lilley Rainer Schuettler and Arnaud Clement know each other well. They first met on the Challenger circuit 11 years ago and have been friends ever since. They ended up spending more than five hours together on court plus a fair few more in the locker room during rain breaks, as their quarter-final match stretched over a 24-hour period. They even had their press conferences a mere five minutes apart. In the end, the German triumphed, 8-6 in the final set after both men had had match points. So what made the difference? “No idea,” admitted Schuettler. “It could have gone either way. I don’t know how but I won it. Tennis is brutal like that. I can’t remember ever playing for five hours, I can’t remember missing so many chances or taking so many chances. And if I’d have lost, I’d have said to Arnaud ‘Well played, good luck’. And that’s exactly what he said to me. “There really was nothing between us,” the semi-finalist continued. “During the rain breaks, we each went for a stretch in the locker room, then we were side-by-side on the physios’ tables, then we both went to get a sandwich and we picked the same one! We did everything the same. I just ended up winning.” Surprisingly, Clement was incredibly upbeat after the match. “It was a fantastic match,” said the Frenchman, who will halve his current ranking of No. 143 after reaching the quarter-finals here. “But when you come so close to winning, when you have a match point and a real chance on the match point, it’s tough.” When asked how he managed to come back from 0-6 down in the third set tie-break, he replied with a grin: “Yeah, and then what did I do? I double-faulted!”. And when told that he and Schuettler had almost beaten the record for the longest ever match at Wimbledon, he again showed his wry humour. “Hmm… Federer’s got a record as well here hasn’t he? I’d prefer his!” Schuettler was in similarly jocular mood, though he had good reason after setting up a semi-final tie with Rafael Nadal. “I’ve got nothing to lose. My coach said that he’s going to sit down tonight and work out a play so it’s up to him. “And the British support the underdog, don’t they? Well, I’m certainly the underdog!” And after playing in probably the most gripping match of the tournament so far, Schuettler is bound to have won over some extra fans for the Herculean task facing him in the semis. Clement will no doubt be watching from the stands, eating a sandwich and wondering “what if”.
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Rainer Reigns In The Rain
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