Having been one stroke away from the final phase of the Davis Cup, the Blues leave Manchester drowned in regrets. France was in fact beaten on Sunday by Great Britain, after three contested and indecisive matches. This defeat, at the end of the suspense, is synonymous with elimination from the group stage for the Tricolores.
In Manchester, Sébastien Grosjean’s team nevertheless qualified for the quarter-finals, unprecedented for them since 2018, before lowering their flag in the decisive doubles, despite a great start and four wasted match points in the third set. .
British people carried by a tide of supporters
Edouard Roger-Vasselin and Nicolas Mahut completed the first round with authority, giving a glimpse of a bright blue sky in the noisy AO Arena, which was almost full with more than 13,000 spectators, a British record in the event.
But the racquet blows of the incandescent Dan Evans, always quick to harangue the crowd, and the doubles specialist Neal Skupski, winner at Wimbledon this summer, ended up triumphing after two suffocating decisive games (1-6, 7-6 , 7-6) and two hours and forty-eight minutes of bitter combat.
The French can emerge stunned from this Sunday full of twists and turns, where regrets and bursts of hope were intertwined. It began in the frustration of the first single lost 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, against Daniel Evans (27th in the world) by a 19-year-old novice, Arthur Fils (44th in the world), yet long ahead, serene and diligent. before unscrewing from the middle of the second sleeve.
Humbert had nevertheless revived hope
The throw in place of Adrian Mannarino, weakened by adductor discomfort, initially looked like a winning bet: the rookie seemed to control the game, his emotions and his opponent, although better ranked, more experienced at 33 years old , and crowned with a newly acquired title in Washington, also on hard court. But the scenario reversed in the middle of the second set. “He gave him energy, and with the public and the new balls, it was going a little too quickly,” commented the Ile-de-France native, a newcomer to the Top 50 in the ATP rankings.
In this context, Ugo Humbert (36th in the world) worked wonders against Cameron Norrie (17th), whom he subdued with composure in three sets 7-6, 3-6, 7-5, won at the end of the suspense after two hours and forty-six minutes. “It’s huge, so many emotions, I went through all the states during the match, it’s completely crazy,” said the 25-year-old left-hander at the microphone of BeIN Sports. The oldest Roger-Vasselin (39 years old) and Mahut (41 years old) therefore unfortunately did not manage to prolong the party. The rest of the competition will be written without them, but with Great Britain, reigning champion Canada, outgoing finalist Australia and even Novak Djokovic’s Serbia.