The French Davis Cup team was not spoiled by the draw on Tuesday for the group stage of the Davis Cup which will see the Tricolores face Spain, Australia and the Czech Republic in Valencia (10- September 15).
“On paper, it’s a difficult group, with strong teams, but which remains within our reach,” analyzed captain Paul-Henri Mathieu, quoted in a press release from the French Tennis Federation (FFT).
The Blues had to go through the play-offs to validate their ticket to the group stage after easily dismissing Taiwan 3-0 in February, thanks to two singles won by the experienced Adrian Mannarino and the young Luca Van Assche, and in the doubles provided by the pair Mahut/Roger-Vasselin.
The draw carried out on Tuesday in London therefore placed France in Pool B in Valencia. The twelve other qualified countries have been divided into three groups which will compete in Bologna for group A (Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Brazil), in Zhuhai for group C (China, United States, Slovakia and Chile) and in Manchester where Great Britain, Canada, Finland and Argentina will face off in Pool D.
The top two in each group will play the final phase of the Davis Cup in Malaga from November 19 to 24, 2024.
The Tricolores, eliminated in the group stage of the last edition in September 2023, have not reached the quarter-finals of the Davis Cup since 2018. Facing Spain at home, the Australians who beat them in both last editions and the Czechs also winners in 2021, they will have to pull out all the stops to reach the “Final Eight”.
“This week promises to be difficult but it is a very exciting challenge to take on. We have quality players in our team, both in singles and doubles. They must continue to progress until September,” noted Paul-Henri Mathieu, seeing them “raise their level of play, especially when they represent their country.”
