Davis Cup: France defeats Taiwan and secures a ticket to the group stage

La paire Nicolas Mahut-Edouard Roger-Vasselin a apporté le point décisif aux Bleus (archives). MAXPPP – ADAM VAUGHAN

Les Tricolores attendent de retrouver les quarts de finale de cette compétition depuis 2018.

The French team qualified for the group stage of the Davis Cup by beating Taiwan 3-0 in the play-off match, following Sunday's doubles victory in the pair Mahut/Roger-Vasselin 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/1).

Saturday, the Blues had perfectly negotiated the first part of the match by winning the first two singles, thanks to the experienced Adrian Mannarino and the young Luca Van Assche, the doubles could therefore already be decisive in case of victory.

Opposed to the Taiwanese Yu Hsiou Hsu and Jason Jung, the French Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin won despite the difficulty, after losing the first set and having played a tense and very close third set .

"It's hard because it was a Davis Cup match (…). We didn't give up, we had a good attitude, we were courageous and we are happy to bring home the winning point", declared Nicolas Mahut on the microphone from beIN Sports.

We also see the trap of playing away against players who have nothing to lose

"We were perhaps a little timid at the beginning (…). We remained calm, we knew that our level of play would evolve. You had to have strong nerves", confirmed his teammate Edouard Roger-Vasselin immediately.

Last year's failure is cleared

"There was quite a bit of suspense in this double, on paper we are largely favorites but we also see the trap of playing at the double. away against players who have nothing to lose, who played extremely well, without pressure", commented Blues captain Paul-Henri Mathieu.

With this 3-0 victory, the French team validated its ticket to the group stage of the competition.

In September 2023, France had failed to get out of the group stage of the Davis Cup. The French have been waiting to return to the quarter-finals of this competition since 2018.