Madrid (AFP)

Finalist last year and winner the year before, the French team has tasted the new Davis Cup sauce: after a victory won against Japan, the Blues were eliminated Thursday in the group stage by Serbia and Novak Djokovic, far from the coveted Silver Bowl.

"Disappointment" is the word that obviously comes down on the lips of all players and their captain Sébastien Grosjean.

But a failure? "Losing against Djokovic and Krajinovic is a failure?" Protests Pierre-Hugues Herbert. "It's really hard, we lose, but we had a pool that was not easy, we missed a 3-0 win against Japan but we also almost lost ... so a + missed +, I think it's a bit violent, "added the doubles player, who with Nicolas Mahut scored two points for France, including the one against Serbia.

Unfortunately for the Blues, Filip Krajinovic won in front of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5, 7-6 (7/5) the game that had to tip the match.

"I was really ready for this match because we knew for a long time that it would be him or me who would decide the qualification in this group," explained Krajinovic.

It seemed as if in fact that Djokovic won the second singles while Mahut and Herbert, winners last Sunday of the Masters in London, would win in the doubles.

- Djoko had wings -

"Maybe from your point of view it seemed easy, but of ours not at all: we had to win, these games, assured the N.2 world Tsonga is in good shape and he likes to play indoor With his service, it's never easy to play against him, but Krajinovic played one of the best games I saw him play, and he gave me wings and some relief before facing Benoît ( Pair)".

The latter, preferred to Gael Monfils who was totally extinct against Japan, was the expense ... He attacked with a lot of aggressiveness the meeting, but in the middle of the first set, the Serb has tightened his game and got hold of the duel.

"I gave my maximum until 4-3, it was very hooked, I would have had to be able to hold this level of play until tiebreak at least to try to annoy him ..."

Unlike the match against Japan which was played in front of half a thousand people, the one against Serbia took place before several thousand spectators. And about 150 tricolor supporters, including a hundred students from the French Lycée de Madrid, have tried to give the hearts of players.

But these did not fade from the absence of historical supporters who had decided to boycott the competition to protest against its new format.

- "Top" -

"I still hope they understand that we play for France, we play for our country, we try to give the maximum, it's like a World Cup, we have to get into the idea that things are evolving, in a good way I think, I hope that next year they will answer now because we needed them ... ", launched Paire who finds" top "the new format picked up that opposes 18 nations in the same city over a week and in three parts (2 singles, 1 double), despite the "adjustments" to make.

"Everybody gives himself thoroughly (...) It really has the future, in any case I believe in it," he assured.

And no offense to his teammate Mahut, who considers that the "tradition that was the salt of the Davis Cup has been trampled" next year the Davis Cup will again take place in Madrid in its format World Cup.

But this time, France will not automatically qualify as will be the four semi-finalists.

"We have already asked for an invitation," said the president of the French Federation Bernard Giudicelli in reference to the two wild cards awarded to each edition by the organization.

© 2019 AFP