Every year since 2008, when Longines became one of Roland Garros’ main sponsors, the brand has staged an exhibition match featuring current and former professional tennis greats to play with the finalists of the Future Aces tournament, which this year took place in the shadow of the Eiffel Tower.

Xiaofei Wang and Jack Pinnington-Jones (far side of the net) playing an exhibition match during the Roland Garros Future Aces tournament with French Davis Cup captain Arnaud Clément and 2007 Wimbledon doubles champion Michaël Llodra

This year, the thirteen-year-old finalists, Xiaofei Wang and Jack Pinnington-Jones, had the pleasure of playing with French Davis Cup captain Arnaud Clément and 2007 Wimbledon doubles champion Michaël Llodra (his partner in that triumph was – perhaps not surprisingly – Clément) in an entertaining matchup of fake grunts and tricky hot dog shots. (For more on this tournament, please read Longines And The Tennis Stars Of Tomorrow At Roland Garros Future Aces 2015 Tournament.)

French Davis Cup captain Arnaud Clément playing an exhibition match on Longines’ special court at the Eiffel Tower during Roland Garros 2015. Nice backdrop!

Arnaud Clément’s greatest tennis year was 2001, when he reached the finals of the 2001 Australian Open, where he was defeated by longtime Longines ambassador Andre Agassi. Clément ended 2001 at his career-high ranking of number 10 in the world. He officially retired from the ATP tour in 2012 and became the French Davis Cup captain in 2013; he currently lives in Geneva.

Longines Conquest Classic Moonphase on the wrist of French Davis Cup captain Arnaud Clément

During the Longines exhibition match, which took place in May 2014, Clément wore the Longines Conquest Classic Moonphase, which looked very classy, if not a tad curious on his wrist: as previously explained in Richard Mille RM 27-02 For Rafael Nadal: The Quintessential Sports Tourbillon, it is very unusual for tennis players to wear a watch on court. So I asked him if he felt comfortable playing with it on, and he answered that he doesn’t generally play with a watch. But that he really enjoyed wearing it otherwise.

Kudos for diplomacy and being a fantastic wrist model.

Longines Conquest Classic Moonphase

Quick Facts Longines Conquest Classic Moonphase
Case: 42 mm, stainless steel (also available in two-tone steel and pink gold or 18-karat pink gold
Movement: automatic Caliber L678
Functions: hours, minutes, seconds; date, day, month; chronograph, moon phase display, 24-hour indication (second time zone)