Davis Cup SFs: Australia, France on brink of final

Published by Matt Trollope

John Peers (L) and Jordan Thompson (R) celebrate their victory on the doubles rubber of the Australia v Belgium Davis Cup semifinal in Brussels as captain Lleyton Hewitt (centre) looks on; Getty Images
Doubles victories to Australia and France have given the two nations 2-1 leads in their respective Davis Cup semifinals and put them on the brink of the final.

Australia and France each stand one rubber away from advancing to the Davis Cup final.

On doubles day in the respective semifinals, Australia’s John Peers and Jordan Thompson were too strong for Belgian pairing Arthur De Greef and Ruben Bemelmans, while France’s dynamic duo of Pierre-Hughes Herbert and Nicolas Mahut overcame Serbs Filip Krajinovic and Nenad Zimonjic.

Both were commanding, straight-sets affairs, putting Australia and France up 2-1 up and just one singles win each away from setting up a final – a repeat of the 2001 finale staged in Melbourne and won by the visitors.

“We had a job to do today and we came out and did it from start to finish,” Peers said after he and Thompson completed a 6-3 6-4 6-0 victory in just 96 minutes in Brussels. “That was our goal and we did it for the team. It was unbelievable. We got the job done.”

Added Thompson: “Davis Cup doubles are usually five-set marathons so the result was surprising. They maybe did not have their best day but John and I played exceptionally well and we got the result.”

GALLERY: best snaps from Davis Cup doubles

Australia will look to seal an unassailable 3-1 lead when Aussie No.1 Nick Kyrgios opens the third and final day of play against Belgian No.1 David Goffin.

Should the tie go the distance, John Millman and Steve Darcis are expected to go head-to-head in the final rubber.

In Lille, Herbert and Mahut – two-time Grand Slam champions – crushed Krajinovic and Zimonjic 6-1 6-2 7-6(3), France’s second rubber win after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s straight-sets win over Laslo Djere on Friday.

Tsonga will attempt to seal victory in the first of the reverse singles rubbers when he faces Dusan Lajovic on Sunday.

Lucas Pouille will face Djere in the fifth rubber.

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