The French tennis team will not win the eleventh silver bowl. Once they entered contention in Bologna, Italy, the Blues were eliminated on Tuesday, November 18, from the final phase of the Davis Cup by Belgium. Corentin Moutet was first beaten in three sets (2-6, 7-5, 7-5) by Raphaël Collignon, then Arthur Rinderknech was dominated in two sets (6-3, 7-6 (7-4)) by Zizou Bergs. Clean… and with grinders for three colors.
“In short format, there are very few things involved, comments after the match Paul-Henri Mathieu, captain of the Blues, in front of the BeIN Sports microphone. The Belgian players were fresher than us today, they took their chances better and they were better. »
The meeting took place in Pavilion nO37 of the Bologna Exhibition Center, a half-empty hall with 10,000 seats. In the semifinals, Belgium will face Austria or doubles title holders Italy, who will face each other on Wednesday. Bringing together eight nations, the competition will be played on indoor hard courts until Sunday.
In the match between the two number one players of each team that evening, Zizou Bergs (43e world) beat Arthur Rinderknech (29e) in two sets (6-3, 7-6 (7-4)). Under pressure after Corentin Moutet’s defeat, the new leader of French tennis struggled to enter the game. Solid in his commitment, his opponent achieved the only break of the first round, finishing in 34 minutes.
Raphaël Collignon made Corentin Moutet fall in love with him
More than ever with his back against the wall, Rinderknech recovered well in the second round. Trailing 6-3, 5-4, he broke through while Bergs served for the match. The Frenchman even had two set points at 5-6, but failed to convert them. Therefore, the match was decided by a tie-break, which the Belgian number one won on his second match point before celebrating his success in front of a very vocal Belgian kop on Tuesday evening.
Previously, there was a duel between two number two players, Raphaël Collignon (86e world) and Corentin Moutet (35e), has long been in balance. After a fierce battle lasting 2 hours 33 minutes, the Frenchman surrendered in three sets (6-2, 5-7, 5-7). He could regret his 37 unprovoked fouls, including some at the worst moments of the game. The match went to 5-6 in the second set, while Moutet served out to continue the tie-break.
To spectacularly conclude a point that seemed certain to him, the left-handed freak attempted a “special” shot, a “tweener” drop shot (a shot between the legs) after a fake smash. A bold move that ended sadly in the bottom of the net. Disappointed, Moutet followed up with a double fault that cost his opponent two set points. In the second, he missed an easy volley, allowing Collignon to equalize again.
The series of gifts further infuriated the Blues as the French number two took advantage of his opponent’s nervousness to easily pocket the first half. Back in the saddle, Raphaël Collignon then served up the final set, regularly reaching speeds of over 200 km/h. In his last six service games, he has conceded just one point. Mentally affected, Corentin Moutet broke again at 5-6. Pressured by the Belgian on his serve, he doubled his errors until he ended up with a double fault.
Asked about the failed “tweener”, Corentin Moutet stated after the match: “I am very sorry that I took that step, but if I had implemented it on the pitch, maybe it would have changed everything, I don’t know. » The French left-hander then added: “When we are tense, overcome with emotion, everyone has a different way of expressing it. Some people double-fault, some miss a forehand, or some like me make bad choices. Of course, a volley would be a wiser choice at that moment. » The Blues’ sad defeat proved this.
