They are aiming to qualify for the final phase in Seville, from November 8 to 13. To do this, the French must defeat Great Britain, Friday and Saturday at Portel during the qualifying round of the Billie Jean King Cup.
To compose his team, Julien Benneteau called on Diane Parry, Caroline Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic.
He was wary of the British this Thursday at a press conference: “I don’t know if we are favorites, but that doesn’t change much. We know it will be difficult. We beat them last year in Coventry, and they will seek their revenge. »
The Mladenovic-Garcia pair in doubles
For this meeting, the two teams will have to play four singles matches and one doubles. The first of the two to record three victories will qualify for the final phase in Seville. The first two singles will take place this Friday, between Diane Parry and Katie Boulter then Caroline Garcia and Emma Raducanu.
This Saturday, the two French women will exchange opponents. Finally, the doubles will pit the pair Kristina Mladenovic-Caroline Garcia against the British Harriet Dart and Heather Watson.
Caroline Garcia, 23rd in the world, will be the headliner for Les Bleues during these two days. If Julien Benneteau chose Diane Parry to support her (49th), he thought for a long time about Clara Burel (44th). ” I hesitated. Both are having a good start to the season, they are close in the rankings. » Finally, he rewarded “the consistency and consistency in tournaments against high-level girls” shown by Diane Parry.
The Billie Jean King Cup matches between France and Great Britain will be followed on BeIN Sports 3. Friday’s matches will start from 2:30 p.m., Saturday’s from 1:30 p.m.
