Norrie and Evans give Great Britain win over France in Davis Cup

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Great Britain kicked off their Davis Cup Finals campaign with a 2-1 win over France on Saturday in a Group C encounter in Innsbruck, Austria. Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie both scored straight-sets wins in the singles to defeat the French team and give themselves with a good chance to qualify for the next round – which they can seal with a win over the Czech Republic on Sunday.

“It was always going to be a very difficult match,” admitted British captain Leon Smith afterwards.

“You’ve got back-to-back matches, we’ll get rest, recovery, fed well, and go again tomorrow – but it’s tough. Czech Republic are a good team – it’s going to be another battle.”

31-year-old Evans, ranked 25th in the world, put the Brits 1-0 ahead by scoring a 7-5, 6-4 win over Adrian Mannarino in one hour and 54 minutes. in the first rubber.

Norrie saves set point to win to earn Davis Cup victory for Brits

That was followed by a strong performance from 26-year-old Norrie, one of the revelations on the men’s tour this year. , Norrie, ranked 12th in the world, staved off a tough fight from Arthur Rinderknech.

After winning the first set easily, Norrie came from 1-4 down in the second set tie-breaker and saved a set point to clinch it 10-8 and complete the 6-2, 7-6 (10-8) win in two horus and five minutes and give the Brits a 2-0 win.

“It was a difficult match with a lot on the line. He was serving rockets and I was doing my best to keep playing it deep and get in the rally,” Norrie said according to the LTA website. “The team behind me were great, especially with no fans – they created a lot of energy and atmosphere and were able to lift me at the end.”

Great Britain are now 1-0 in Group C while France, who beat Czech Republic on Thursday, end the group with a 1-1 record in ties.

In the doubles, the scratch pair of Arthur Rinderknech and Nicolas Mahut beat Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski – both Grand Slam champions this year – 6-1, 6-4.

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