France sees its chance at the Davis Cup with back-to-back French singles victories
February 9, 2008
Richard Gasquet and OJ-Wilfried Tsonga gave France their qualification for the quarterfinals of the Davis Cup, one of the crown jewels of tennis, with two singles victories against Romania. The two young men, 21 and 22 respectively, have all of France pinning their hopes on them to take them past the quarterfinals.
In his showdown in Sibiu, Gasquet overtook Victor Hanescu in three sets 7-6 6-4 7-5, after two hours and 44 minutes of play. In his first appearance in the Davis Cup, Tsonga, fresh from his finalist finish at the Australian Open, escaped the initial assault of a strong Andrei Pavel in the latter’s 60th David Cup appearance, winning his match in four sets, 6-7 6-4 6-4 6-4 in 3 hours and five minutes. This struck a second blow for France in quick succession.
Captain of the French team Guy forget was jubilant about the victories and the high level of play exhibited by Gasquet and Tsonga. Forget remarked on the strength of the Romanian players as well as the conditions, playing as they were before a “hostile” crowd of local fans.
Forget noted that Gasquet had been a little bit tense at the outset of his match against Hanescu. But Richard Gasquet took time to size up Victor Hanescu, ranked 76th in the world, and once he got past the tie breaker in the first set, the number one French player was never worried again. “I was tight at the beginning, which cost me a break”, Richard Gasquet admitted. “Taking the first set was important. To win in three is very satisfying. From experience, I know that the matches turn over against you very quickly.”
In his Davis Cup singles match, Tsonga had to go through a baptism of fire. Broadsided at first by the quality of tennis dished out by veteran Andrei Pavel, ranked 83rd in the world, the Frenchman found himself quickly behind by a set. Without panicking, Tsongas rebounded, imposing his own rhythm thanks to his serve (16 aces and no breaks).
Tsonga was modest. “Inside, I felt I did not play very well” reacted the finalist of the last Australian Open. But he added that in retrospect it was his opponent’s strong play that prevented him from initially hitting his stride. “I realized that I became a Davis Cup player today when I returned to the tennis court at the presentation of the teams. It was an odd feeling. I wanted to feel proud but very quickly, you remember you’re playing for a captain, your teammates and your staff.”
Very calm throughout his Australian tennis contest, this time French player OJ-Wilfried Tsonga succumbed to nerves in the middle of the fourth set, in which he had to save three consecutive breaks in his serve at 2-3. “I had a hot dispute with the referee”, he admitted. He said his temper actually was a good thing, breaking him out of his nervousness.
For Guy Forget, the French captain, the scenario was near perfect: “We’ll have a nice relaxing dinner this evening,” he said. He remarked that Richard was solid throughout, and paced himself during his tennis match, fulfilling his role well. As for OJ-Wilfried, “he was confronted by Pavel, who played at a top 10 level during the first set,” said Forget. “But everyone knew he was not going to be able to keep up this rate of play. I coached OJ to let the storm pass, to wait for the break, and he won the last three sets with a break.”
Guy Forget praised Tsonga for his comeback and for keeping his cool. “He learns so fast, and he really wants to win, After all he went through, he crushed Pavel. That is the mark of a champion. My hat’s off to him.”
The two men’s opponents in the quarterfinals will either be the defending Davis Cup champs the US, or Austria, in matches decided this weekend.
On Saturday, the French doubles pair Arnaud Clement-Michaël Llodra, finalists at Melbourne, will attempt to qualify for the next level against Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau. The two Frenchmen will be spurred by revenge because last year, in Clermont-Ferrand, the Romanians defeated them in an upset that stunned the tennis world.
Comments
Got something to say?
You must be logged in to post a comment.