HOSTS FRANCE TAKE 21 LEAD IN DAVIS CUP FINAL VERSUS BELGIUM

LILLE: France moved one step closer to a 10th Davis Cup title when Richard Gasquet and Pierre-hugues Herbert beat Ruben Bemelmans and Joris De Loore 6-1 3-6 7-6(2) 6-4 to give the hosts a 2-1 lead in the final against Belgium on Saturday.

The French pair, in their first competitive match together, were down a break in the third set when Bemelmans suffered a meltdown, allowing Les Bleus to turn the situation around.

David Goffin put the visitors ahead by beating Lucas Pouille in the opening singles before Jo-wilfried Tsonga levelled for 1-1 when he defeated Steve Darcis in the second singles on Friday.

Tsonga and Goffin face off in the first reverse singles on Sunday while Pouille and Darcis are set to play a decisive fifth match, if needed.

UNDER PRESSURE

Gasquet and Herbert, however, owe a big part of their victory to Bemelmans’s inability to handle the pressure in front of a wild 28,500 crowd at the Pierre Mauroy stadium.

Bemelmans played a poor service game to allow the French to level for 5-5 and as the left-handed Belgian’s level nosedived, Les Bleus easily won the tiebreak.

Two consecutive double faults by Herbert earned Belgium break points in the sixth game of the fourth set but France saved them in style before they broke in the seventh when Bemelmans made a dog’s dinner of a routine overhead. The French held serve and wrapped it up when De Loore fired a forehand long on match point.