Aurélie SACCHELLI, Media365, published on Thursday, November 25, 2021 at 11:32 p.m.
The French team won their first Davis Cup meeting against the Czech Republic, thanks to the victories of Adrian Mannarino and the Herbert / Mahut double, while Richard Gasquet had lost at the outset.
The honor is except for the France team! Largely favorites on paper against the Czech Republic, the Blues finally won after the third set of the third game. After the defeat of Richard Gasquet and the victory of Adrian Mannarino, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut, the recent winners of the Masters ATP doubles, had the task of concluding this day with a victory. She arrived, but it was laborious. Faced with young Tomas Machac and Jiri Lehecka, whom they did not know at all, the Blues, who form one of the best pair in the world, struggled but ended up winning 3-6, 6-4, 6 -3 in 2:04. Disconcerted by the lack of atmosphere, the slower surface than in Turin, and their opponents who were playing remarkably well, Herber and Mahut lost their serve to 2-3 in the first set and did not have a chance. to come back, facing these Czechs who lost only three points on their faceoff in this round. In the second, the French had to save two entry break points, then began to gain the upper hand over their opponents. They got a break point at 2-1, then four 4-3 and finally ended up taking the opposing service at the best time, at 5-4. On their momentum, they broke 2-1 in the deciding set and held on without too much problem until 5-3, where they ended with a shutout. So here is a good thing done, with this first victory on the clock. In case of success on the British favorites on Saturday, France will be there for the quarterfinals. In case of defeat, it will be necessary to take out the calculators and see if it can finish among the two best second, but with a set-average of 0 (4 sets won, 4 sets lost) during this success against the Czechs, this is not the case. is not necessarily off to a good start.
If you missed the second game:
The Blues remain alive in this first Davis Cup meeting against the Czech Republic! After the loss of Richard Gasquet, Adrian Mannarino had no room for error, and the world No.71 held his place by beating No.72 Jiri Vesely, whom he had dominated twice out of three by the pass. It was not easy, but the Frenchman ended up winning 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 in 2:37. Mannarino arguably could have made the game easier if he hadn’t lost his way as he led 5-2 in the first set. He missed a set point at 5-3 and Vesely managed to snatch the tie-break, where he crushed his opponent: 7-1. The Blues were then at the foot of the wall, but Mannarino did not let himself be defeated, breaking to 1-1 in the second set and managing to hold his break in advance until the end, even if the Czech obtained two balls of 5-5. Everything was decided in the third round, where Vesely flinched physically, like Gasquet in the first match. If he managed to save his service game at 0-0 after 19 points, the Czech then lost it at 1-1 and 3-1, and Mannarino took the opportunity to break away and go for his second victory in Davis Cup. The counters are reset, it’s up to Herbert and Mahut to play!
If you missed the first game:
Things couldn’t have started worse for the French Davis Cup team, facing the Czech Republic in their first group match of the final tournament, behind closed doors in Innsbruck, Austria. Preferred to Arthur Rinderknech, Richard Gasquet, 86th in the world, was opposed to Tomas Machac, 143rd, for the first time in his career, and he lost 7-6, 6-2 in 1h35. The 35-year-old Biterrois completely missed out on his 31st Davis Cup match, facing the 21-year-old who had never had the opportunity to wear the Czech jersey in this competition. Gasquet in particular plunged physically, after a first set which ended in the tie-break. While he had managed the first break of the match, at 1-1, the French gave up his throw-in after a catastrophic game (2-2), and the two players then had no more ball. station wagon to defend. In the decisive game, the Czech won 7-3, taking advantage in particular of the many forehand fouls of his opponent. Quickly, the supporters of the France team (in front of their TV, failing to be there …) understood that Gasquet would not hold up physically. He certainly won the first game of the second set, but after 20 points played, then lost his serve on a shutout at 1-1, and was again broken at 3-1. Machac managed to conclude without trembling to offer himself one of the most beautiful victories of his career, and the first point for his country. Adrian Mannarino and the Herbert / Mahut pair will not be allowed to make mistakes …
DAVIS CUP 2021 / FINAL STAGE
From November 25 to December 5 in Madrid (Spain), Innsbruck (Austria) and Turin (Italy)
Group stage
Group C (in Innsbruck)
1- France: 1 victory, 0 defeat, 4 sets won, 4 sets lost
2- Czech Republic: 0 victory, 1 loss, 4 sets won, 4 sets lost
Britain
Thursday 25 November
France – Czech Republic: 2-1
Machac (RTC) bat Gasquet (FRA): 7-6 (3), 6-2
Mannarino (FRA) bat Vesely (RTC) : 6-7 (1), 6-4, 6-2
Herbert / Mahut (FRA) beat Machac / Lehecka (RTC): 3-6, 6-4, 6-3
Saturday November 27
10h00: France – Great Britain
Sunday November 28
10h00: Great Britain – Czech Republic
