France’s captain, Yannick Noah, took a risk with player selection and court surface choices in the Davis Cup final against Croatia, which unfortunately did not work out in their favor. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jeremy Chardy faced Croatia on indoor clay and suffered defeats on the first day, putting Croatia in a strong position to claim the Davis Cup for the second time. Borna Coric of Croatia defeated Chardy 6-2, 7-5, 6-4, while Marin Cilic overcame Tsonga 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 in the singles matches at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium.
Having previously won the title in 2005, Croatia stands at 2-0 and has the opportunity to clinch the Davis Cup from the defending champions in France through the doubles match on Saturday. Croatia boasts a strong team and hasn’t lost a tie since 2015, making them a formidable opponent. Notably, no team has managed to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a final since Australia in 1939.
Despite missing key players like Richard Gasquet due to injury and Gael Monfils and Gail Simon being overlooked, Noah opted to start with Chardy instead of Lucas Pouille, the 2017 final winner. Playing in his first Davis Cup final, Chardy was outplayed by Coric.
Tsonga, who returned from a seven-month absence due to a knee injury in September, showed signs of rustiness in his play and struggled, eventually succumbing to injury towards the end of the match. However, there is still a glimmer of hope for France thanks to Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who will compete in the doubles match.
