Nadal Stung by Clement at ATP Marseille

"It's never nice to get stung by a bee of course, and it's even more strange for it to happen indoors in February," Nadal said. "But there are no excuses, he was the better player today and credit to him."

For Clement it is his first final since 2003 when he won one title in three finals.

"It's the best I've played in a long, long time. I really felt comfortable out there on the court and I had a game plan which I stuck to very well throughout the match," Clement said. "The crowd were amazing today and helped to lift me throughout the match."

Clement will face the hot-handed Mario Ancic in the final, with the Croat earlier beating countryman Ivan Ljubicic, and Saturday outlasting Frenchman Sebastien Grosjean 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

"I didn't expect to do so well here this week," Ancic said. "I knew I had (Marcos) Baghdatis in the first round and was just prepared to fight, in the second round too. Now I've found a bit more rhythm on this surface and it's getting easier and my standard is getting higher."

Clement has won two of his three meetings with Ancic, but the Croat brutalized him 6-0, 6-2 in their most recent encounter January in Adelaide.

The doubles final will be (1) Knowles/Nestor vs. (4) Damm/Stepanek.