Two singles, two defeats. Arthur Rinderknech went down to Liam Draxl, the world number 205, 6-2, 7-5. Quentin Halys took a set off Félix Auger-Aliassime before losing 7-6, 4-6, 6-3.
France captain Paul-Henri Mathieu, a former world number 12, summed up the evening in comments relayed by Sportsnet: “It’s the worst possible scenario tonight. We’re disappointed to be 2-0 down. The guys gave everything out there”. It’s that first sentence our intern has been chewing on ever since.
So Maxime checked whether the worst possible scenario still leaves room for qualification. Answer: it does. France must win the three remaining matches of the tie to reach the Final 8 in Bologna, scheduled from 24 to 29 September. Which means they can’t lose another match, and that isn’t quite the same thing as being out.
Silly question, but if you can still qualify, is it really the worst? I asked three people: one said 2-0, one said 3-0, one said “you’ll get it eventually”. I’ll just note that at 3-0 there would be nothing left to play for, so there exists a scenario worse than the worst possible scenario, and it starts at eight in the evening. Anyway, I still have a lot to learn.
The doubles, then. Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Benjamin Bonzi face Félix Auger-Aliassime, who has already played a singles rubber today, alongside Duncan Chan. Start time 8pm French time.
Draxl, I said it back in January. Not the name, the idea. A number 205 coming out of nowhere in the Davis Cup, that’s ninety per cent of the time, isn’t it.
Three matches still separate France from Bologna, starting with the one at eight o’clock.
It’s true, we checked: We Love Tennis.
