The Davis Cup is entering a brave new world — but it is not leaving the old one quietly.
Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert made sure of that with a gripping doubles win that keeps France’s hopes against Croatia alive in the last final to be staged in the event’s traditional format.
On a rainy afternoon in northern France, more than 20,000 fans packed into Lille’s soccer stadium to roar Mahut and Herbert to a 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(3) win over Ivan Dodig and Mate Pavic.
It meant that the last head-to-head Davis Cup final before a soccer World Cup-style format begins next year would stretch to three days, with Croatia still in the driving seat at 2-1 ahead.
The home win kept alive the possibility, however remote, that Yannick Noah’s champions can storm back to become the first team since Australia against the US in 1939 to win a final from 0-2 down.
It is a long shot with Marin Cilic and Borna Coric, ranked seventh and 12th in the world respectively, expected to claim the one point Croatia need to win the title for a second time.
Whatever happens, French Open champions Mahut and Herbert did their bit, resisting a fierce Croatian fightback to prevail.
“We tried to keep the team alive today,” Mahut, who boasts a 9-2 record in Davis Cup doubles, said. “We want to win the Davis Cup and I think our players can do it tomorrow.”
Noah, who cried during the anthems before play, hopes to sign off his third stint as captain by delivering France’s 11th Davis Cup, but admits that his team still have a mountain to climb.
“We have to try to visualize a positive outcome to win the whole thing,” he said. “You saw today what can happen when the fans got involved.”
“That can be positive for us and negative for the other side,” he added. “Whatever the outcome it’s an historic weekend for Davis Cup lovers. At times, I was overwhelmed by the atmosphere. We may not ever have this again. Except for tomorrow.”
It looked like it would be a comfortable win for the French duo when they had points for a double break in the third set, having dominated the first two.
However, Pavic and Dodig, who with Cilic beat Mahut and Herbert in the 2016 semi-final, France’s last defeat, clawed their way back to set home nerves jangling.
From 3-1 down, Croatia broke twice to reel off five straight games and take the third set.
At the start of the fourth, France saved three break points on the Herbert serve and he was sweating again at 2-2 as the momentum swung Croatia’s way.
French fans ratcheted up the decibel levels as Pavic served at 4-5.
When Pavic double-faulted at 0-30 to give France three match points, opposing fans trying to out-chant each other.
Pavic kept his head as he and Dodig dug themelves out of a seemingly impossible position to make it 5-5.
Mahut and Herbert jumped into a 4-1 lead in the tiebreak and although the Croatians got it back to 4-3, the French pair then kept their cool with Mahut’s reflex volley sealing the win.
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