France and Belgium reach the Davis Cup final

France and Belgium reach the Davis Cup final after beating Serbia and Australia

France

With Novak Djokovic out, team Serbia didn’t have many chances to beat France that besides having a great depth in singles the could also rely on a strong team in doubles with Herbert and Mahut. Eventually, Serbia fought hard and their best player, Dusan Lajovic (world no.80), surprised in the opening rubber after he defeated Pouille in 4 sets 1-6 6-3 7-6 (9) 7-6 (5). But France had the luxury of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga that won the first match against Laslo Djere (the world no. 95) 7-6 (2) 6-3 6-3 to back it up in the reverse singles against Lajovic with a 2-6 6-2 7-6 (5) 6-2 win. On Saturday, Herbert and Mahut had a comfortable ride over Krajinovic and Zimonjic to win the contest 6-1 6-2 7-6 (3). After these results, France conquered an unpassable 3-1 lead and a ticket to the final.

Belgium

The other semifinal was much more thrilling. The Australians were absolutely determined to have a good run in Belgium with Nick Kyrgios 100% motivated to give his best (a rarity). In singles, on one side, the Europeans had an always reliable David Goffin and a die-hard Steve Darcis. On the other, the Australians had Nick Kyrgios, John Millman, and Jordan Thompson. Eventually, the lack of depth of the Australian team was the key point of this tie.

The score was even after the first day after Goffin defeated Millman 6-7 (4) 6-4 6-3 7-5 and Kyrgios beat Darcis 6-3 3-6 6-7(5) 6-1 6-2. The Aussie got an important 2-1 lead after Peers and Thompson demolished Bemelmans and De Greef 6-3 6-4 6-0, but that wasn’t enough.

Things got ugly for Hewitt & C. in the following day. They needed just 1 win on 2 matches, but they managed to conquer just 1 set on aggregate on Sunday after Kyrgios lost 6-7 (4) 6-4 6-4 6-4 and Darcis defeated Thompson 6-4 7-5 6-2.

The Davis Cup trophy will be back in Europe. The final will be played in France the 24-26 November. The French team has won the trophy 9 times while Belgium was the 2015 runner-up when they lost to Great Britain in the final.