Overcome the past. Last year, Nicolas Mahut, persuaded to be in line, was dismissed by Yannick Noah at the last moment of the doubles Davis Cup final against Belgium. A scar never really closed, he has the opportunity to cauterize against Croatia, his "last chance".

The tears had summed up everything. Not only his, but also those of his friend Julien Benneteau. At the moment of the anthem during the presentation of the teams of the final against the Belgians of David Goffin in a stadium Pierre-Mauroy full, the two banned had not managed to contain them in the stands.

To read. Davis Cup. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga: "I'm not a chatterer"

An indelible scene, at the height of the chef's surprise. Noah had indeed surprised everyone by preferring to align at the last moment Pierre-Hugues Herbert alongside Richard Gasquet in doubles. A choice difficult to understand, because for many, the captain held the ideal pair.

"Bennet '" over a blazing end of the season, with a semifinal at Bercy a few days earlier. Mahut, for his part, was returning from the London Masters contest with Herbert, who had injured his back before arriving in the North of France and seemed destined to play the luxury sparring partners. The Angevin has also been aligned in five of the six meetings of the Noah era since 2016.

Resilience work

During the training week leading up to the winning final (3-2), Mahut and Benneteau had played together. Nothing could suggest such a choice.

To read . Davis Cup. Yannick Noah: "They are less strong on clay"

Except that Herbert had tasted his non-selectable status and had made it known. Back in the game, he had earned his place in training, without anyone seeing him coming.

Noah had carved out a rather symptomatic episode of the absence of moods that animated him when he had to decide under his captaincy. A winning choice finally, so indisputable. But Mahut, like his friend, had fallen from above. He had cut his disappointment over the weekend. The next fifteen days had "been a bit difficult," he said. Resilience work took a long time.

Recalled against Italy, on the clay of Genoa in the quarterfinals, Mahut had done the job with Herbert. At the time, far from Lille and a possible final, the subject was not relevant.

He quickly returned to the table with the semifinal against Spain mid-September, again in Lille, an episode that served as catharsis. Noah took Benneteau out of his pre-retirement and lined up with Mahut, on the same stage as the 2017 final. The week before their match was "not easy" to live with Mahut's admission. "You have to put all that aside and it's not easy. It's a real job, " he said. The two had assured not to see a revenge, but the emotion inevitably surfaced.

"My last chance"

Their match against Lopez and Granollers was undoubtedly their best in Davis Cup, with a level of play "stratospheric" according to the Spanish captain Sergi Bruguera. And the injury of last year partly erased. In part only.

This time, for the final against the Croats, the suspense should not be invited. Although it is always necessary to remain cautious with Noah, the pair Mahut-Herbert, beaten in the final of the Masters of London Sunday, has a priori no problem to be made. A golden opportunity for Mahut to finally play in a Davis Cup final, a kid's dream.

"We can not approach this meeting with detachment, he confessed Tuesday. I may be even more excited because I know it's the last one and that whatever happens, there will be nothing left behind. There will never be a Davis Cup final (in the current format, ed). This is my last chance, it's been thirty years since I wait for it, I have it at hand. A chance not to be missed.