maltatoday SUNDAY 26 NOVEMBER 2017
Sports
61
TENNIS
Davis Cup final: France move within one win of their
10th title after going 2-1 up against Belgium
FRANCE moved within
one victory of a 10th Davis
Cup title by winning the
doubles against Belgium
yesterday in Lille.
Richard Gasquet and
Pierre-Hugues Herbert
beat Ruben Bemelmans
and Joris De Loore 6-1 3-6
7-6 (7/2) 6-4 to give the
hosts a 2-1 lead in the final
ahead of Sunday's reverse
singles matches.
The French pair, playing
competitively together for
the first time, were down a
break in the third set when
Gasquet lost his serve, but
Bemelmans was unable to
serve out the set and the
hosts dug in and took the
tie-break.
France made their deci-
sive move in the seventh
game of the fourth set on
the Bemelmans serve, and
Herbert would eventually
serve out the match.
If Jo-Wilfried Tsonga de-
feats David Goffin in the
first singles match on today
then France will win the
Davis Cup for the first time
since 2001 with a match to
spare.
Richard Gasquet (R) and Pierre-Hugues Herbert of France