Mannarino (58th player in the world), replacing Benjamin Bonzi at the last minute, won a thrilling match against Marton Fucsovics (71st) in two sets 7-6 (8-6), 6-2.
Despite a bad start, the Frenchman found his rhythm at the end of the first set to come back to his opponent at the time of the tie-break.
He started the second set much more incisively, notably by scoring 19 points in a row to easily win.
Now, Sébastien Grosjean's men are hoping for a victory for young Ugo Humbert against Zsombor Piros, winner of Bonzi the day before, to get their ticket to the group stages of the Davis Cup.
© 2023 AFP