A French fight back in on the cards heading into the final day of their Davis Cup clash with Croatia in Lille, according to former player Arnaud Boetsch.
The host nation currently trail the tie 1-2 following their double loss on the opening day. However, they have generated a much needed momentum boost with the help of Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert. The French duo triumphed in their doubles match on Saturday with a 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3), win over Mate Pavic and Ivan Dodig.
“Every day is a different day and I think tomorrow with this victory there is a good chance France can win.” Said Boetsch. “(Marin) Cilic and (Borna) Coric are better than our players.
But with the crowd, with the energy coming from the seat of the captain (Yannick Noah), there is a good chance that it can change the energy and the curve of where the situation is heading. But it will not be easy.”
Boetsch, 49, is known best for his dramatic win over Sweden’s Nicklas Kulti during the 1996 Davis Cup that secured the trophy for his country. As a player he won three ATP titles in singles during the early 1990s, as well as two in the doubles.
Speaking about his picks for the last two matches, Boetsch has said that he would scrap Jeremy Chardy. The world No.40 lost in straight sets to Coric on Friday. Instead, lending his support behind doubles specialist Herbert.
“What we saw yesterday on court with Jeremy Chardy, I don’t feel very comfortable about him playing tomorrow. I would play with Lucas Pouille in the fourth match and then Paul-Henri Herbert in the fifth.” He said.
27-year-old Herbert achieved a singles ranking high of 50th in October on the ATP Tour. He has played eight Davis Cup matches since 2016, but only one of those was in singles. That was against Japan in 2017 where he lost in straight sets to Yasutaka Uchiyama.
The Davis Cup final will resumed on Sunday at 13:00 CET.
