LILLE, November 26, 2017
France pulled off a 3-2 victory over Belgium to clinch the 2017 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas in Lille. Lucas Pouille won the decisive fifth rubber 6-3, 6-1, 6-0 against Steve Darcis.
The 23-year-old Frenchman was all over his opponent right from the start, didn’t face a break point, converting three of his own chances to seal victory in one hour and 34 minutes.
3️⃣2️⃣
#DavisCupChampions pic.twitter.com/jtTut4Hbsa— Davis Cup (@DavisCup) 26. November 2017
“When Jo lost I was crazy in my head and I was like ‘go on, play your game, try to beat him’. This is a feeling from another world,” Pouille said.
“There are no words needed, just look at the atmosphere and hear the emotion right now.
“I am so proud of my team, we really wanted this trophy. After 16 years, we finally got it, I’m very happy.”
Goffin Beat Tsonga
Earlier on Sunday, David Goffin had kept Belgium’s dream of a maiden triumph in the competition alive with a stunning 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth rubber.
“It’s a disappointment even if I played two good matches,” Goffin said. “When the team loses we’re all disappointed. We gave it our all. It’s tough to finish this way but we did a lot of good things as a team this year. As for next year, we have a home time in the first round. We’ll see how things go.’’
France clinched its 10th Davis Cup title overall, and its first since 2001 when, under the captaincy of Guy Forget, it defeated Australia 3-2 on grass in Melbourne.
