The French tennis team qualified for the group stage of the Davis Cup by beating Taiwan 3-0 in the play-off match, after the victory in three sets on Sunday in doubles for the pair Mahut - Roger-Vasselin ( 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 [7/1]).
Opposed to the Taiwanese Yu Hsiou Hsu and Jason Jung, the French Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin won in difficulty, after losing the first set and having played a tense and very close third set which ended in a tie -break (7-1).
“It was hard because it was a Davis Cup match (...).
We didn't give up, we had the right attitude, we were courageous and we are happy to bring home the winning point,” declared Nicolas Mahut on beIN Sports.
“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.
On 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, who honored his first selection against Yu-Hsiou Hsu with a clear victory and without burr (6-4, 6-4).
With this 3-0 victory, the French team validated its ticket for the group stage of the competition, which will take place just after the US Open between September 10 and 15.
If the Tricolores manage to qualify, they will be able to play the final phase of the tournament in Malaga in November.
The Blues have not reached the quarter-finals of this competition since 2018. In 2023, they did not make it out of the groups.