Paris (AFP)

The victory of the team of France in Fed Cup Sunday in Australia, "it is that of great sportsmen but also great ladies", greeted Tuesday Emmanuel Macron receiving at the Elysée the French players.

Kristina Mladenovic, Caroline Garcia and others, who brought a third Cup to France after the successes of 1997 and 2003, beating Australia's World No.1 in singles Ashleigh Barty in Perth (3-2), have to show "fortitude" that makes them "remarkable women", said the head of state.

"You were able to get together, form a team, ease misunderstandings, re-establish links" to win "this collective victory," said the president to the players and their captain Julien Benneteau, in a speech of about 15 minutes in the Council Chamber.

"In recent years, sometimes, we have had the feeling that, in tennis, things were often written in advance, that the choreography was perfectly oiled, that there were Nadal, Federer, Williams, etc. And there, in this case, nothing was written ", also said Emmanuel Macron, who practices himself tennis.

This triumph at the antipodes is "auspicious" in the perspective of the Olympic Games in Tokyo (July 24 - August 9) which must be "a good harvest" of medals for France, insisted the head of state.

- "On a cloud" -

Benneteau, who fractured his left foot Sunday night celebrating the French victory, said he was "very proud" of his players, five women who "have done so much to get there."

Questioned by the press after the Elysee reception, the 37-year-old Bressan said he was injured while performing "a dance step" during Sunday's festivities. "We were in a big living room where there was big carpet, my shoe got stuck and my foot literally gave way and turned around like that rather improbably," explained the captain, who must undergo Thursday morning operation.

In front of the press, Mladenovic and Garcia claimed to have lived "a dream" at the Elysee and still be "on a cloud".

"When there is recognition (...) it is still a surplus to find the will and the courage to go train and make sacrifices," said Garcia.

© 2019 AFP