Defending Champ France Edges Ahead

ITALY 1, FRANCE 2
Venue: Valletta Cambiaso ASD, Genoa, ITA (clay – outdoor)

Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut moved defending champion France to within one win of the Davis Cup World Group semi-finals after beating Italy’s Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 on Saturday.

The Frenchmen broke their Italian opponents on seven occasions in the one-hour, 54-minute encounter to give France a 2-1 lead heading into Sunday’s reverse singles rubbers. A change of nomination for Italy, which replaced Paolo Lorenzi with Fognini, could not inspire the home side to victory, with the French pair improving their Davis Cup record as a team to 5-1.

“It’s very satisfying winning that match for the team,” Herbert told DavisCup.com. “We’re obviously very happy to get the point and hopefully the boys can get the job done in the singles. It’s going to be a great match with Lucas (Pouille) and (Fabio) Fognini.”

Herbert and Mahut’s victory gives teammate Pouille the opportunity to book France’s place in the next round when he faces Fognini on Sunday. Despite the 2-1 advantage, Mahut was well aware of the threat the Italian No. 1, who recently won the title in Sao Paulo, poses on Sunday. “There is a long way to go and Fognini played unbelievable in the singles,” said Mahut.

CROATIA 2, KAZAKHSTAN 1
Venue: Varazdin Arena, Varazdin, CRO (clay – indoor)

Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic secured a vital point for Croatia, defeating Kazakhstan’s Timur Khabibulin and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-7(2), 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 after exactly three hours of play.

Dodig and Mektic won 74 per cent of points behind their first serves to put Croatia 2-1 ahead in the tie, coming from a set down to delight the home fans in attendance at the Varazdin Arena. The result hands World No. 3 Marin Cilic the opportunity to clinch the tie in the opening match on Sunday, when he faces Kazakh No. 1 Mikhail Kukushkin. Cilic leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 2-1, winning their most recent meeting in the 2015 US Open third round in five sets.