LILLE, September 11, 2018

The Spanish Davis Cup team has arrived in France and completed their first practice session on Monday. The sextet of Pablo Carreño Busta, Marc López, Feliciano López, Marcel Granollers, Albert Ramos and Roberto Bautista Agut played indoors at the Regional Tennis Center of the French Federation in Lille. On Tuesday they will have their first test on the court of the Stade Pierre Mauroy, where the semi-final tie will be played between September 14 and 16.

“It is clear that we had many more opportunities with Rafa (Nadal), but we have a very good team that will compete and fight. We are going to make things as difficult as possible (for France),” Davis Cup captain Sergi Bruguera said.

France with Lucas Pouille, Richard Gasquet, Benoit Paire, Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut will host Spain in the World Group semi-finals in the ninth meeting between the two nations, but their first since 2011.

Two of the last three meetings between Spain and France took place in the stage of the final four nations, with Spain winning both – in Alicante in 2004 and Cordoba in 2011 – before going on to win the title on each occasion.

Spain leads the head-to-head 6-2, but France won the last meeting between the two teams on French soil in Clermont-Ferrand in 2010.