France and Serbia level at 1-1 as Tsonga beats Djere
Tennis - Davis Cup - Semi-Final - France vs Serbia- Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - September 15, 2017 France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga celebrates winning his match against Serbia's Laslo Djere REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
LILLE, France (Reuters) - Jo-Wilfried Tsonga claimed a no-nonsense 7-6(2) 6-3 6-3 win against Laslo Djere as France drew level with Serbia in their Davis Cup semi-final after the first singles on Friday.
Les Bleus fell 1-0 behind after a nervous Lucas Pouille slumped to a 6-1 3-6 7-6(7) 7-6(5) defeat by Dusan Lajovic.
French number one Tsonga got off to a slow start as world number 95 Djere held throughout the opening set, but the 2008 Australian Open runner-up served three aces to take the tiebreak easily.
Tennis - Davis Cup - Semi-Final - France vs Serbia- Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - September 15, 2017 Serbia's Laslo Djere in action during his match against France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
He was then rarely troubled in a one-sided encounter on the indoor claycourt in the Pierre Mauroy stadium.
Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut are expected to give the hosts a 2-1 lead in Saturday's doubles against Filip Krajinovic and Nenad Zimonjic.
It did not go as planned, however, for Pouille.
Tennis - Davis Cup - Semi-Final - France vs Serbia- Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - September 15, 2017 France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga celebrates winning his match against Serbia's Laslo Djere REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
The world number 22 was way too shaky in Lille and rapidly fell behind against world number 80 Lajovic, bowing out after saving five match points.
"This is what Davis Cup is about," said Serbia captain Zimonjic. "Both players gave everything - they fought until the end.
"We know we need a miracle to win this tie but we believe in our team."
Tennis - Davis Cup - Semi-Final - France vs Serbia- Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - September 15, 2017 France's Lucas Pouille looks dejected during his match against Serbia's Dusan Lajovic REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
France were heavily favoured with Serbian former world number one Novak Djokovic absent. But Pouille looked nervous early on, spraying the court with unforced errors while Lajovic made the difference with his forehand.
Pouille fought back to force a tiebreak. But despite the loud backing of the crowd, the Frenchman wasted a set point before handing the set to Lajovic when he fired a forehand wide.
The Frenchman turned the situation around in the second set as Lajovic started to struggle with his forehand. But in the fourth set, the Serb broke early on and set up a match point at 5-3.
Tennis - Davis Cup - Semi-Final - France vs Serbia- Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - September 15, 2017 France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in action during his match against Serbia's Laslo Djere REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
Pouille saved it and broke back for 5-4. He then saved three consecutive match points on serve in the 12th game, but lost the tiebreak after a brief interruption as Lajovic was suffering from cramps.
(Reporting by Julien Pretot; Editing by Larry King and Christian Radnedge)
Tennis - Davis Cup - Semi-Final - France vs Serbia- Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - September 15, 2017 Serbia's Dusan Lajovic celebrates during his match against France's Lucas Pouille REUTERS/Pascal RossignolTennis - Davis Cup - Semi-Final - France vs Serbia- Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - September 15, 2017 Serbia's Laslo Djere in action during his match against France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga REUTERS/Pascal RossignolTennis - Davis Cup - Semi-Final - France vs Serbia- Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - September 15, 2017 Serbia's Dusan Lajovic shakes the hand of France's Lucas Pouille as he celebrates winning the match REUTERS/Pascal RossignolTennis - Davis Cup - Semi-Final - France vs Serbia- Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - September 15, 2017 France's Lucas Pouille in action during his match against Serbia's Dusan Lajovic REUTERS/Pascal RossignolTennis - Davis Cup - Semi-Final - France vs Serbia- Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - September 15, 2017 France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga celebrates winning his match against Serbia's Laslo Djere REUTERS/Pascal RossignolTennis - Davis Cup - Semi-Final - France vs Serbia- Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - September 15, 2017 Serbia's Laslo Djere in action during his match against France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga REUTERS/Pascal RossignolTennis - Davis Cup - Semi-Final - France vs Serbia- Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille, France - September 15, 2017 France fans during the game between France's Lucas Pouille and Serbia's Dusan Lajovic REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol
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