Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was the hero, winning his two singles matches as France beat Canada in Davis Cup action 4–1 this past weekend. Tsonga won the crucial fourth match over Canada’s Frank Dancevic, a late substitution for the injured Milos Raonic, 6–4, 6–4, 6–1. The win gave France an insurmountable 3–1 lead.
In the dead fifth rubber, the acrobatic Gael Monfils beat Vasek Pospisil 6–4, 6–4.
“It was not easy for me because I was ready to play Milos [Raonic],” said Tsonga in an on-court interview with Sportsnet after beating Dancevic.
“I’m just happy to win today for France,” said Tsonga. “He [Dancevic] took his chances. It was not easy with the atmosphere today.”
The Davis Cup atmosphere is the most raucous in tennis as fans cheer as they would at a soccer match for their country.
“I was happy with my play today,” said Dancevic. “I had nothing to lose. I was the underdog going in. The crowd got me really into it.”
“He [Tsonga] played the big points well today. It was an unbelievable atmosphere out there.”
Big Step for Canada
Canada joined the big boys of Davis Cup tennis—the World Group (for the top 16 nations)—when they took on France in Vancouver at Thunderbird Sports Centre.
The powerhouse French team, ranked fourth in the world, lost in the 2010 final and won it all in 2001. The average rank of the three players who took on Canada in meaningful matches—Tsonga, Julien Benneteau, and Michael Llodra—was 29, matching the rank of Canada’s top player Raonic.
France also had very strong crowd support, decked out in blue shirts, and at times they needed it to pick themselves up. Despite being heavily favored to beat Canada, the hosts were no push-overs.
