Noah was expected to go with his highest-ranked singles player Lucas Pouille -- 32 in the rankings -- who sealed victory in last year's final against Belgium
France's team captain Yannick Noah gives a press conference during the draw on the eve of the Davis Cup tennis final between France and Croatia at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, northern France, on November 22, 2018. Pic/AFP
France captain Yannick Noah sprung a surprise on Thursday when he announced that Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jeremy Chardy would contest the opening round of singles in this weekend's Davis Cup final against Croatia.
ADVERTISEMENT
Noah was expected to go with his highest-ranked singles player Lucas Pouille -- 32 in the rankings -- who sealed victory in last year's final against Belgium. Instead Chardy, ranked 40, will lead the 10-time champions against Borna Coric in the opening singles on the clay courts of the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille on Friday.
Former world number five Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is currently ranked down at 259, only returned to action in September after missing most of the season through injury. He has the job of facing world number seven Marin Cilic in the second singles tie.
"It has been a long road to get back on the courts," said Tsonga. "I am very happy that Yannick had confidence in me. I feel I have earned my place and I hope to prove it this weekend." Cilic leads the head to head with Tsonga 5-2, winning their only meeting on clay in Monte Carlo in 2015. Tsonga also played down fears that he had injured his right shoulder in training on Tuesday.
"Today, I am feeling very good," he said. Chardy has never played in a Davis Cup final but the 31-year-old has represented France in other rounds and is unbeaten on indoor clay, his favourite surface, in the competion. Saturday's doubles sees Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who last week reached the final of the ATP Finals in London, take on Mate Pavic and Ivan Dodig.
Pouille may yet feature in the reverse singles on Sunday. Draw for Davis Cup final (French players first): Friday -- singles Jeremy Chardy v Borna Coric Jo-Wilfried Tsonga v Marin Cilic Saturday -- doubles Nicolas Mahut/Pierre-Hugues Herbert v Mate Pavic and Ivan Dodig Sunday - singles, to be announced.
Catch up on all the latest sports news and updates here. Also download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get latest updates
This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever
Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!
