Tsonga sends France into Davis Cup final
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E-mail Shanghai Daily, September 18, 2017
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Tsonga ousts Lajovic to send France into 18th Davis Cup final. |
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga clinched a Davis Cup semifinal victory for France against Serbia by defeating Dusan Lajovic 2-6, 6-2, 7-6 (5), 6-2 yesterday.
France took an unassailable 3-1 lead and will face either Belgium or 28-time champion Australia in the final. The Australians led 2-1 in Brussels before yesterday's reverse singles, with home favorite David Goffin taking Nick Kyrgios in the first match.
France avenged its loss to Serbia in the 2010 final and qualified for its first final since losing to Switzerland in the title match three years ago. The French will play at home from November 24-26 if Belgium wins, or travel to Australia.
France won the last of its nine titles in 2001 against the Australians.
"I'm relieved and happy," said France captain Yannick Noah. "To win the Davis Cup is something extraordinary. Hopefully I will be able to win it with theses lads."
Noah already captained France to the 1991 and 1996 Davis Cup titles. As a player, he also won the French Open in 1983.
The French did a lap of honor after Tsonga won the decisive point against a depleted Serbian team which gave a tough challenge to the hosts.
Tsonga won his second point for France after defeating 22-year-old debutant Laslo Djere in straight sets on Friday to level the tie at 1-1. Two-time Grand Slam champions Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert then gave the hosts a 2-1 lead when they beat Filip Krajinovic and Nenad Zimonjic in the doubles match.
In Astana, last year's Davis Cup champion Argentina was knocked out of the competition's top tier yesterday with defeat to Kazakhstan.
Mikhail Kukushkin defeated Diego Schwartzman 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (2) in a battle between the teams' top-ranked players to give Kazakhstan an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five match in Central Asia.
Argentina — which didn't have its top-ranked player Juan Martin del Potro in Kazakhstan — is the first reigning Davis Cup champion to be relegated since Sweden in 1999.
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