FRANCE 3, BELGIUM 2 Lille, France (Indoor Hard) If Lucas Pouille was nervous competing in a live Davis Cup fifth rubber for the first time, he certainly didn’t show it. Pouille clinched France’s 10th Davis Cup title with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 victory over Belgium’s Steve Darcis in Lille, France, giving his country a 3-2 win in the tie. "There are no words needed," Pouille said. "Just look at the atmosphere and the emotion... I'm just so proud of my team. We really wanted this trophy and finally we got it after 16 years. I'm very happy." The Frenchman entered the match having lost his past two Davis Cup matches, including a one-hour, 59-minute defeat at the hands of David...
FRANCE 2, BELGIUM 1 Lille, France (Indoor Hard) For a while, it appeared that Belgium was ready to shock the fans inside Stade Pierre Mauroy, as Joris De Loore and Ruben Bemelmans served for a two sets to one lead in Saturday's doubles rubber in Lille, France. But Richard Gasquet and Pierre-Hugues Herbert battled the whole way in front of their home crowd to defeat the Belgians 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-4 and move France within one match of capturing its 10th Davis Cup title. Belgium, which is in its second Davis Cup Final in three years and third overall, now must win both reverse singles rubbers to triumph in the tie and claim their first victory at the event. Yannick...
FRANCE 1, BELGIUM 1 Lille, France (Hard Indoor) France needed its top-ranked player to come through in the Davis Cup final on Friday, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga certainly did just that. With his country trailing Belgium 0-1, Tsonga upended ATP World Tour veteran Steve Darcis 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in Lille, France to end the first day of play at Stade Pierre Mauroy. Tsonga, who made a late push in the Emirates ATP Race To London by winning the European Open and reaching the final at the Erste Bank Open 500, beat Darcis in their first meeting in 15 years, which came on the ITF Pro Circuit. It was an important victory for France, which would have faced a daunting 0-2 deficit...
Fresh off his run to the championship match at the Nitto ATP Finals, where he defeated both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, David Goffin will look to lead Belgium to a historic Davis Cup victory this weekend against France in Lille. Up to a career-high No. 7 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after his impressive run at The O2 last week, the 26-year-old Goffin will look to inspire his nation to a first Davis Cup title. Belgium finished runner-up in 1904 and more recently in 2015, when it was beaten on home soil by an Andy Murray-led Great Britain. Goffin is joined on the away team by stalwart Steve Darcis, who won the decisive fifth rubber against Jordan Thompson in...
FRANCE 3, SERBIA 1 Lille, France (Outdoor Clay) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga provided the heroics on Sunday afternoon in Lille, giving France an unassailable 3-1 lead in their Davis Cup semi-final tie against Serbia. The French No. 1 rallied past Dusan Lajovic 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(5), 6-2, claiming his 20th singles victory in his Davis Cup career. Lajovic had stunned Lucas Pouille to open the tie on Friday, but was unable to replicate the upset. Tsonga prevailed after two hours and 48 minutes, firing 38 winners including eight aces. It was sweet revenge for Les Bleus, who were defeated by Serbia in the 2010 final. Under the captaincy of Yannick Noah, the French squad will appear in its first final since 2014. They...