Marrakech 2017
Marrakech 2017
Apr092017
The content of this article took place at Grand Prix Hassan II
BELGIUM 3, ITALY 1
Spiroudome de Charleroi, Charleroi, BEL (hard – indoor)
World No. 14 David Goffin wasted no time in sending Belgium to the Davis Cup semi-finals, ousting Paolo Lorenzi 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 in just one hour and 52 minutes on Sunday.
In front of the partisan Belgian crowd in Charleroi, Goffin sent the host nation back to the semis for the second time in three years, improving to 13-1 in his last 14 singles rubbers. The 2015 runners-up will welcome Australia in September.
“When you see the score it was comfortable, but inside it was not,” said Goffin. “You have to stay focused. Especially when you win the first two sets and you think it’s the end, but it’s not. I’m really happy with how I finished.
“I just give my best on the court. I just want to play for my team and my country. I love to play at home, with the atmosphere in front of my own fans.”
Goffin fired a forehand winner – his 29th of the match – to claim victory on Sunday. It was his second straight-set singles win of the tie, having defeated Andreas Seppi 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 on Friday.
FRANCE 4, GREAT BRITAIN 1
Kindarena, Rouen, France (Indoor Clay)
A day after taking an unassailable 3-0 lead, France completed a 4-1 victory over Great Britain. Jeremy Chardy downed Kyle Edmund 6-4, 6-4 on Sunday, after the Brits got on the board with a 6-1, 6-2 win for Daniel Evans over Julien Benneteau.
SERBIA 4, SPAIN 1
Aleksandar Nikolic Arena, Belgrade, Serbia (Indoor Hard)
Spain narrowly avoided a whitewash at the hands of Serbia, with Albert Ramos-Vinolas claiming the dead rubber victory over Nenad Zimonjic 6-2, 6-1. Earlier in the day, Dusan Lajovic rallied past Jaume Munar 2-6, 6-1, 6-4.
Great Britain’s Davis Cup captain Leon Smith says the competition’s format is not “fan or player friendly”.
Reforms were endorsed in March to reduce the current five-set format to three sets played over two days.
GB’s Dan Evans and Kyle Edmund both played best-of-three sets in their singles rubbers against France as the hosts secured a 4-1 victory on Sunday.
“It’s a tough ask for children to come in and watch two five-setters in one sitting,” Smith told BBC’s Sportsweek.
“It’s simply too long. It’s not fan friendly and it’s not player friendly.”
Smith – who admitted on Saturday that GB’s squad “lacked depth” – said the existing format could stop the world’s top players from competing.
Serbia’s Novak Djokovic was the only player ranked in the top 10 to appear for any of the nations in the quarter-finals.
“If you’re playing a hectic schedule, you know you have to come in and play a five-set match on the Friday, potentially the doubles then another best of five, that is too much,” Smith added.
“That already puts the decision into a player’s head that that is too much and they can’t play.
“You change that to three and for fans, they sit through two best-of-three matches; that’s much more realistic in the time frame.”
France took an unassailable 3-0 lead over GB after victory in Saturday’s doubles, but Evans and Edmund played Julien Benneteau and Jeremy Chardy respectively on Sunday.
Evans beat Benneteau 6-1 6-2 in just 43 minutes before Edmund lost 6-4 6-4 to world number 68 Chardy.
Evans and Benneateu approached their singles rubber as though it was an exhibition match, with both players playing up to the Rouen crowd.
The Brit took his aggressive hard court game onto the clay, winning 30 points as he wrapped up the first set in 21 minutes.
Benneateu was then joined on court by his doubles partner Nicolas Mahut, and briefly by France captain Yannick Noah, as Evans played the three players at once, much to the crowd’s amusement.
However Evans – who, prior to this weekend, had not played a match on clay in two years – won the match in 43 minutes.
“Our fans come and watch us everywhere. They pay their hard-earned money, and it’s not cheap, so we wanted to put a show on for them,” Evans told BBC Sport after the match.
Edmund, 22, continued his impressive showing on clay as he pushed Chardy’s backhand, but the Frenchman’s ease on clay ensured he registered victory in just over an hour.
The Davis Cup dead rubber singles match between GB’s Dan Evans and France’s Julien Benneteau descends into farce when Nicolas Mahut and coach Yannick Noah join the action.
Manchester representatives have shown an interest in hosting the WTA Finals from 2019.
The season-ending event with the best eight female players has one year of a five-year deal with Singapore to run.
“Manchester is one of several destinations that have reflected an initial interest in learning more about the opportunity,” the WTA said.
London’s O2 Arena has hosted the men’s equivalent since 2009 and will do so until at least 2018.
The WTA Finals – which began in 1972 – was held in the United States until 2000 and has also taken place in Munich, Madrid, Doha and Istanbul.
It has not been held in Europe since 2013 but seven of the world’s current top eight are European.
Manchester Arena was the preferred choice for Great Britain’s 2015 Davis Cup semi-final, but the tie was held in Glasgow due to a music concert.
Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent
The WTA’s presence in Asia has expanded dramatically in recent years, but Europe seems a more likely destination for the Finals from 2019.
Manchester remains an ambitious sporting city and, with the rise of Johanna Konta, I can understand their early interest.
Tennis has been very well supported, both indoors and out, in the UK in recent years. But this would still represent something of a gamble given the lesser pull of the women’s game currently – and the difficulty of predicting which eight players would qualify for the Finals.
ATPWorldTour.com recaps Davis Cup World Group quarter-final play on Sunday
Nick Kyrgios guided Australia back into the Davis Cup semi-finals with a 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-4 victory over Sam Querrey on Sunday.
The World No. 16 fired down 21 aces to secure an unassailable 3-1 lead for Lleyton Hewitt’s side at the Pat Rafter Arena in Brisbane.
The United States swapped Jack Sock for Querrey, a move that could have been prompted by the towering 29 year old’s win over Kyrgios en route to taking the Abierto Mexicano Telcel title in February. However, Kyrgios dictated play, fighting back from a 1-4 deficit in the third set to clinch the tie on home soil.
“It’s a lot of relief we got through, a tough third set out there,” said Kyrgios, who won both singles matches this weekend in straight sets against Top 30 opponents. “Obviously a lot of emotions close to the finish line, I’ve been looking forward to this tie for a long time now.”
Later on Sunday, John Isner overcame Sam Groth 7-6(5), 6-3 in the dead fifth rubber.
Australia last made the semi-finals in 2015, losing to eventual champions Great Britain in Glasgow. “There is no greater honour than wearing the green and gold,” said Australia’s captain Hewitt. “I couldn’t be prouder of my boys. They’ve put so much hard work and effort into this campaign. They did absolutely everything we asked of them. The coaching staff too, so many sacrifices made. That’s what representing Australia is all about.”
Nick Kyrgios secured Australia’s Davis Cup quarter-final victory over the United States by beating Sam Querrey.
With Australia 2-1 up going into the final day, Kyrgios won 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 6-4 to give the hosts an unassailable lead in Brisbane.
USA’s John Isner beat Sam Groth 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 in the concluding dead rubber to leave the final scoreline 3-2.
Australia, captained by Lleyton Hewitt, will play either Belgium or Italy in the semi-finals.
Kyrgios and Jordan Thompson had put Australia 2-0 up with respective singles wins over John Isner and Jack Sock before the US hit back with victory in the doubles.
World number 16 Kyrgios lifted Hewitt up as Australia celebrated their victory.
“I knew that I hit a bit of a flat patch at the start of the third set but Lleyton told me to compete for every point and it’s easy to get up out here,” said Kyrgios.
Hewitt added: “I couldn’t be prouder of my boys. They’ve put so much effort into this campaign and they deserve this.”
Captain Smith positive despite GB Davis Cup defeat
FRANCE 3, GREAT BRITAIN 0
Kindarena, Rouen, France (Indoor Clay)
Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut overcame Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot 7-6(7), 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 on Saturday to secure France’s place in the Davis Cup semi-finals.
The French duo gave Les Bleus an unassailable 3-0 lead in their quarter-final tie with Great Britain, surging into the semis for the fifth time in eight years. They advanced when a Murray backhand volley clipped the tape off a Mahut lob, improving to 6-1 in their last seven home ties.
Despite the absence of stalwarts Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet, France dropped just one set in reaching the last four, including straight-set victories for Lucas Pouille and Jeremy Chardy on Friday. Seeking a 10th Davis Cup crown, Yannick Noah’s side will face either Serbia or Spain next.
Great Britain, meanwhile, failed to reach the semi-finals for the first time in three years. The 2015 champions were without the services of World No. 1 Andy Murray, who is recovering from an injured right elbow.
Great Britain are out of the Davis Cup after a 3-0 quarter-final defeat by France, as Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot lost in the doubles.
Murray and Inglot were beaten 7-6 (9-7) 5-7 7-5 7-5 by Nicolas Mahut and Julien Benneteau on day two in Rouen.
On Friday, Kyle Edmund lost the first singles match 7-5 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 to world number 17 Lucas Pouille.
And Dan Evans was also beaten in three sets in his singles match – 6-2 6-3 6-3 by world number 68 Jeremy Chardy.
It is the first time GB have failed to make the semi-finals in three years.
“It was a good match, it was an exciting match, a lot of good tennis, we just didn’t get it done when it mattered,” said Jamie Murray.
“Obviously it was a really close match all the way through.
“We probably did enough to win the first set, we won the second set and then we were up a break in the third set, so realistically we could potentially have won the first three sets.”
With GB trailing 2-0 after the first day, Murray and Inglot knew they had to win the doubles rubber to keep the tie alive.
Britain had only lost two previous Davis Cup doubles matches under Leon Smith but his team got off to a bad start, losing the first-set tie-break.
Murray and Inglot recovered to level the match at 1-1 and earn GB their first – and only – set of the weekend.
But Mahut and Benneteau, buoyed by a raucous home crowd, were relentless and sealed an inspired victory for France in four sets.
The pair, who are not regular playing partners, first won major silverware together back in 1999 in the US Open juniors and were victorious at the ATP Tour event in Marseille in February.
France will now face Serbia – who beat Spain 3-0 in Belgrade with the help of world number two Novak Djokovic – in the semi-finals in September.
“We are a great nation, who have not won this competition since 2001. There is great expectation around the team and we are a good group,” Mahut told BBC Sport.
“It was the first time I have played at home. Hopefully we can play the semi-final at home and ultimately we want to bring back the trophy to France.”
Britain, without injured world number one Andy Murray, failed to win a set on the opening day of a Davis Cup tie for the first time since 2008 against Argentina.
Kyle Edmund battled hard against Lucas Pouille – the highest-ranked player in the tie – in the first of the singles on Friday but the Frenchman’s backhand proved too strong.
With Great Britain already 1-0 down, 26-year-old Evans – whose indifferent record on clay was a talking point in the build-up to tie – was tasked with turning things around.
However, he was completely outplayed by late call-up Jeremy Chardy.
The 30-year-old had made just three previous Davis Cup appearances, and none for six years – but Evans’ lack of match practice on the clay, having not played on the surface for two years, told.
And Jamie Murray, who finished 2016 as the number one-ranked doubles player along with partner Bruno Soares, was unable to bring GB back into the tie on Saturday.
Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent
France fielded their third- and ninth-highest-ranked singles players, but were still comfortably able to see off a British team lacking Andy Murray.
There were fleeting opportunities for the visitors: for Kyle Edmund in the opening singles, and for Jamie Murray and Dom Inglot in the doubles when they went a break up in the third set.
But France have astonishing strength in depth and the fact they have not won the Davis Cup since 2001 is one of the most painful subjects in French sport.
Leon Smith’s team are assured of a place in the 2018 World Group. And despite this weekend’s gloom, the next three seasons should present them with a reasonable chance of repeating that historic triumph of 2015.
John Lloyd, Former GB Davis Cup captain
Great Britain had their chances. It was a fantastic doubles match but the French team played best on the big points,
Nicolas Mahut in particular was absolutely magnificent today.
He had that air about him that he was going to win the match at whatever cost.
Jamie Murray was superb throughout today and hardly missed a volley. He was the best player on the court for long periods of the match.
GB played against a world-class team today and they could have won the match.
In Belgrade, world number two Novak Djokovic helped Serbia to victory in their last-eight tie against Spain.
Djokovic, who missed the Miami Masters because of an elbow injury, beat Albert Ramos-Vinolas in Friday’s singles before Viktor Troicki saw off Pablo Carreno Busta 6-3 6-4 6-3.
Troicki then teamed up with Nenad Zimonjic in Saturday’s doubles as they finally overcame Carenno Busta and Marc Lopez in a five-set thriller to reach the semi-finals.
Elsewhere Italy kept their semi-final hopes alive with victory in the doubles over Belgium in Charleroi.
Andreas Seppi and Simone Bolelli beat Ruben Bemelmans and Joris de Loore 4-6 6-3 6-4 3-6 7-6.
Italy now trail 2-1 going into Sunday’s reverse singles.
USA also turned the momentum in their quarter-final clash with Australia in Brisbane.
Steve Johnson and Jack Sock beat Sam Groth and John Peers in the doubles to keep their tie alive going into the third day.