France Eyes Davis Cup Glory, Faces Belgium in Quarterfinal Clash
MALINES, Belgium – The French Davis Cup team is laser-focused on reclaiming the coveted “salad bowl,” aiming for their first championship since 2017 as they prepare to face Belgium in Tuesday’s quarterfinal showdown. Despite a challenging path through the tournament, coach Paul-Henri Mathieu has made the team’s ambition unequivocally clear: to win the entire competition.
This year’s Davis Cup quarterfinal pits France against belgium in a best-of-three match format consisting of two singles and one doubles contest. A victory would propel the French team into the semi-finals, where they will face either italy or Austria.Beyond that, a potential final awaits against Spain, the Czech Republic, Argentina, or Germany.
Mathieu acknowledges the difficulty of the upcoming match.”It’s going to be a challenging meeting for both teams, with players who are confident at the end of the season and who have progressed enormously this year,” he stated in comments reported by L’Équipe. “We’re all impatient. With this fairly short format, we no that a lot can happen, in one direction or the other, so we will have to be very concentrated from the start of the meeting.”
France holds a recent head-to-head advantage, having defeated Belgium 2-1 in September 2022. Though, Mathieu cautions against complacency. “It would be a mistake to think that it is indeed an easy meeting and I would not at all pretend to say that, simply as our rankings are slightly higher, quite the contrary,” he explained. “Especially in formats like this, where we play over one day, with two singles and a doubles. We also know how little difference there can be between players on a big day. I obviously have great confidence in my players.”
The Tricolores are determined to build on past successes, including their 3-2 victory over Belgium in the 2017 Davis Cup final. “I want to follow through on my ideas. Obviously, everyone wants to get this salad bowl. Today, the objective, it is clear, is to go to the end of this competition,” Mathieu affirmed.
