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  • Reverse singles irrelevant as France sweeps Romania 3-0

    2/10/08 4:20 PM | Ricky Dimon
    - Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra are extended to five sets by Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau, but the Australian Open runner-ups prevail to give France an insurmountable 3-0 lead over Romania in the first-round Davis Cup tie. The victory sets up a quarterfinal showdown with the defending champion United States.

    The experienced and well-respected doubles team of Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra came through in the clutch on Saturday and propelled France into the quarterfinals of the 2008 Davis Cup, where it will take on the United States. The Frenchmen defeated the Romanian duo of Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau 6-3, 6-4, 6-7(6), 3-6, 6-2 in front of a boisterous pro-Romanian crowd.

    Mergea and Tecau upset these same opponents in a first-round Davis Cup tie last year, and after the Romanians stormed from two sets down to take sets three and four on Saturday, it looked like another surprise was in the making. The Romanians, however, saw their serves deteriorate in the fifth set in terms of both percentage and effectiveness. Clement and Llodra broke Tecau at love in the fourth game to take a 3-1 lead and they never looked back. The Frenchman struck ten winners in the decisive frame of play as opposed to just four unforced errors.

    Because the doubles point gave France a 3-0 lead and clinched the opening-round tie, the reverse singles on Sunday were rendered inconsequential. Had the singles matches been important, Richard Gasquet was set to take on Andrei Pavel in the first match and Australian Open runner-up Jo-Wilfried Tsonga would have squared off with Victor Hanescu in the decisive fifth rubber had it been tied 2-2. On Friday, Gasquet got the tie started with a straight-set victory over Hanescu and Tsonga overcame Pavel in four sets after dropping the opening frame.

    With the Sunday singles having no impact on the overall outcome of the tie, France sent out Llodra, who is a doubles specialist but won this ATP season’s first singles event in Adelaide, to play Pavel. The Frenchman prevailed 7-6(5), 7-6(7).

    Clement and Tecau played instead of Tsonga and Hanescu, respectively, in the final singles rubber.

    France will visit the United States during the second weekend of April for a highly-anticipated quarterfinal tie. “Playing the United States is a magnificent challenge,” said French captain Guy Forget. “On paper, they're better than we are. They're the best team in the world with Andy Roddick, James Blake and the Bryan brothers.”

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