France, with Gaël Monfils and Benoît Paire in singles, began their campaign in the ATP Cup with a victory over Chile on Saturday in Brisbane in group A. Paire offered the first victory to his team by defeating Nicolas Jarry 6-7 (3/7), 6-3, 6-3. Two sets were then enough for Monfils to defeat 6-3, 7-5 Cristian Garin.
The Chileans saved the honor by winning the double, a French specialty, at the expense of the pair Nicolas Mahut / Edouard Roger-Vasselin, dominated 7-5, 6-2. Pair and Monfils underlined the role played by their captain, Gilles Simon, novice in the function and still player on the circuit at 35 years old.
🤗 Bring it in 🤗
Monfils manages to move past Garin 6-3 7-5 to clinch the tie for 🇫🇷 #TeamFrance pic.twitter.com/5QBBW0Xugv
“He is a former Top 10, he still plays. He has a lot to say about the opponent, about my game, and that's good, ”said Benoît Paire. Monfils stressed that he had changed tactics after speaking with Gilles Simon, while Garin had taken over in the second set. Which has paid off. The world No.10 was indeed led 4-2 in this second heat, before turning the tide to win in two sets.
The role of Simon will be even more decisive Monday, with an enticing and complicated France-Serbia for the second day of group A. Novak Djokovic is there for this match which should determine which of the two nations will finish at the head of the pool.
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ATP Cup: Oops ... The organizers have the wrong anthem for the very first match of the competition
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