Tennis: Experience v big serve

John Isner (left) has the big serve, while Arnaud Clement has the experience. Photos / Steven McNicholl, Getty Images

About nine years, nine ATP finals, four titles, 494 matches, $6 million, 39kg and 33cm separate today's finalists at the Auckland men's tennis open.

Of those stats, the latter two will be the most immediately obvious, with 2.06m American John Isner to tower over the diminutive 1.73m Frenchman Arnaud Clement when the pair stride on to centre court to begin the battle for the Heineken Open title.

But in tennis terms Clement, a former top 10 player and Grand Slam finalist, is the real giant. Isner has the most potent weapon - his cannon serve - but Clement has no shortage of advantages in what should be a classic clash of styles.

Clement, who came to Auckland only at the last minute when his friend Sebastien Grosjean was offered a wildcard, moves better, has more solid ground strokes and is vastly more experienced.

He also has more titles to his credit than ATP virgin Isner. But with the most recent of his successes coming almost four years ago, the 33-year-old Frenchman is just as desperate as the younger American to step into the winner's circle.

"I've played between 25 and 30 tournaments every year since 1997 and I only won four of them," Clement said. "A title is a very important thing in a career and I hope [today] is going to be the fifth."

Clement describes himself as a little bloke with no real weapons but his vanquished semifinal opponent, 2008 champion Philipp Kohlschreiber, begged to differ.

"I think he is lying," Kohlschreiber said. "I saw a few weapons [yesterday]. He plays for sure very solid but every time he plays close to the baseline. He places the balls great. That is one kind of weapon, he has so much control on the ball."

Clement is also no slug on serve, even shading Isner this week on percentage of service games won. Yesterday's 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory was the best match he had played in years, with every facet of his game coming together, Clement said.

"I don't have a big serve like Isner or a big forehand like Grosjean but I try to be competitive in all parts of my game."

Clement has knocked out three seeds en route to the final but Isner poses an entirely different threat to the likes of Kohlschreiber, David Ferrer and Jurgen Melzer.

"He is a great player now," Clement said.

"He has a fantastic serve but he is playing good also from the baseline now. I think this guy can beat anyone on the tour now when he is playing his best. So it is going to be hard to beat him but when you are playing a final you want to win it. And if I play like I did [yesterday] I think I will have a chance."

Isner booked his spot by seeing off eighth seed Albert Montanes, his third Spanish opponent in four matches. The American walked the first set 6-2 in just 21 minutes, dropping just three service points in the set, and then closed out the match in a second set tiebreak to earn himself some welcome respite after three tough three-set matches this week. "It felt good to get it done in two sets, that was huge for me," Isner said.

Isner's only other final appearance came in his second ATP tournament in Washington in 2007 when he pulled off a record five third-set tiebreak victories before falling to Andy Roddick in the title rubber. "I made the finals out of nowhere," Isner said.

"I had never been in that situation and I played a guy in Andy who had been there numerous times. This time I am a lot more prepared and a lot better player. I really deserve to be at this stage where as before it just came out of nowhere ...

"A lot of times players go into finals and don't play their best. Hopefully that is not going to be the case for me ... I have never won an ATP tournament and if I can get that done that is massive. But I don't want to put any added pressure on myself. If I can just go out there and play the way I have been playing I think I'll be all right."

ARNAUD CLEMENT

Age: 33
Country: France
Height: 1.73m
Weight: 72kg
Career win-loss: 296-290
Prize money: $6,342,354
Titles/finals 4/6
Highest ranking: 10

This week
Aces: 14
Double faults: 11
1st serve percentage: 58.62%
1st serve points won: 72.94%
2nd serve points won: 57.50%
Service games won: 39/43 (90.70%)
Break points saved: 10/14
Breaks pts converted: 12/28

Road to the final
Rd 1: bt Jeremy Chardy 7-5 6-4
QF: bt Jurgen Melzer 6-2 7-5

Rd 2: bt David Ferrer 7-5 6-4
SF: bt Phillip Kohlschreiber 6-3 7-6 (2)

JOHN ISNER

Age: 24
Country: USA
Height: 2.06m
Weight: 111kg
Career win-loss: 50-42
Prize money: $868,794
Titles/Finals: 0/1
Highest ranking: 34

This week
Aces: 56
Double faults: 11
1st serve %: 66.86%
1st serve points won: 76.55%
2nd serve points won: 56.25%
Service games won: 49/55 (89.09%)
Break points saved: 13/19
Break pts converted: 11/30

Road to the final
Rd 1: bt Guillermo Garcia Lopez 4-6 7-6 (3) 6-2
QF: bt Tommy Robredo 7-6 (5) 3-6 6-4

Rd 2: bt Juan Monaco 5-7 6-4 6-3
SF: bt Albert Montanes 6-2 7-6 (5)

KIWI MAKES DOUBLES FINAL

New Zealander Marcus Daniell has made the final of the Open doubles.

Daniell and his Romanian partner Horia Tecau came from a set down to beat Johan Brunstrom of Sweden and Jean-Julien Rojer of the Netherlands Antilles 3-6, 7-6, 10-8.

The last New Zealander to win a title at Auckland was Brett Steven, who won the doubles with Pat Galbraith in 1998.

Daniell, ranked 670 in the doubles rankings, and Tecau will now play the Brazilian pairing of Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in today's final.