In-form Gael Monfils will lead teammates Michael Llodra, Gilles Simon and Arnaud Clement in the Davis Cup final against Serbia, France captain Guy Forget said on Tuesday.
Richard Gasquet will be substitute for the men’s team event, but could have a role to play, Forget said during a press conference in Saint-Cyprien where the French team are holding a five-day training camp.
Serbia, whose hopes will rest heavily on the shoulders of world No. 3 Novak Djokovic, will host the tie in Belgrade from Dec. 3 to Dec. 5. Djokovic will be joined by Viktor Troicki, Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic.
France head into the final with confidence high following fine performances from Monfils and Llodra at the Paris Masters.
Llodra, who beat Djokovic in Paris, lost to Robin Soderling in the semi-finals as the Swede went on to beat Monfils in the final.
“This victory [of Llodra against Djokovic] will bring him a lot of confidence,” Forget told reporters.
Forget said only Monfils was certain to play the opening singles, with Llodra sure of a doubles place.
Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic will be keeping a check on Djokovic and doubles specialist Zimonjic, both of whom are involved in the ATP Tour Finals in London.
“It’s maybe a unique opportunity for all of us, so we have to find this little piece of energy there is left and give everything on the court,” Djokovic told reporters.
‘SU-PENKO’: Hsieh and Ostapenko face a rematch against their Australian Open final opponents, the same duo Hsieh played in last year’s Wimbledon semi-finals Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko on Wednesday survived a near upset to the unseeded duo of Sorana Cirstea of Romania and Russia’s Anna Kalinskaya, setting up a semi-final showdown against last year’s winners. Despite losing a hard-fought opening set 7-6 (7/4) on a tiebreak, the fourth seeds turned up the heat, losing just five games in the final two sets to handily put down Cirstea and Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-2. Nicknamed “Su-Penko,” the pair are next to face top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in a reversal of last
Taiwanese tennis veteran Hsieh Su-wei (謝淑薇) and her Latvian partner Jelena Ostapenko finished runners-up in the Wimbledon women's doubles final yesterday, losing 6-3, 2-6, 4-6. The three-set match against Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens of Belgium lasted two hours and 23 minutes. The loss denied 39-year-old Hsieh a chance to claim her 10th Grand Slam title. Although the Taiwanese-Latvian duo trailed 1-3 in the opening set, they rallied with two service breaks to take it 6-3. In the second set, Mertens and Kudermetova raced to a 5-1 lead and wrapped it up 6-2 to even the match. In the final set, Hsieh and
Taiwanese tennis veteran Hsieh Su-wei and her Latvian partner, Jelena Ostapenko, advanced to the Wimbledon women’s doubles final on Friday, defeating top seeds Katerina Siniakova of the Czech Republic and Taylor Townsend of the US in straight sets. The fourth-seeded duo bounced back quickly after losing their opening service game, capitalizing on frequent unforced errors by their opponents to take the first set 7-5. Maintaining their momentum in the second set, Hsieh and Ostapenko broke serve early and held their lead to close out the match 6-4. They are set to face the eighth-seeded pair of Veronika Kudermetova of Russia and Elise Mertens
Outside Anfield, the red sea of tributes to Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva, has continued to grow this week, along with questions over whether Liverpool could play at Preston today, their first game since the brothers’ tragic loss. Inside Anfield, and specifically a grieving Liverpool dressing room, there was no major debate over the pre-season friendly. The English Premier League champions intend to honor their teammate in the best way they know how. It would be only 10 days since the deaths of Jota and Silva when Liverpool appear at Deepdale Stadium for what is certain to be a hugely
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