Quarter-Finals - France v Great Britain: Day 1 Davis Cup

Good afternoon, welcome to Rouen, the capital of the Northern region

of Normandy. It is a 90 minute Drive from Paris. We are here for the

Davis Cup quarterfinals, Britain taking on France. The opening

ceremony has taken place and we are ready for the first of the singles

matches, has Kyle Edmund takes on the French number one, Lucas

Pouille. They are making their presence felt. Two former players

that know all about the atmosphere, Jamie Baker and John Lloyd. In the

build-up to this, the talk was more about who was missing, rather than

who was playing? I know, you think about the French team, no Gasquet,

no Gael Monfils, Simon dropped for Chardy. On this surface, the

favourites are still favourites after missing all of those players,

it is amazing, the depth that they have. Britain, without Andy Murray,

as expected. He has had injuries and a virus? We sort of expected that.

He had a rough start to the year, after his heroics last year. The

elbow injury, always serious. It was wise for him to rest. It makes it

more interesting, with all of the pull-outs. Now it is much more even,

although the French are still favourites. If we look at the teams,

Lucas Pouille had such a great year in 2016. Ranked number 17 in the

world. Only 23 years of age? As you said, last year was the

breakthrough, getting to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, and the

US Open. He had an amazing win in New York against a Rafa Nadal. He

will be a favourite today against Kyle. A strong doubles team, as far

as Mahut and Benneteau go. The British team, Kyle loves the clay

courts, Dan Evans not so much. The two singles matches today, the

doubles tomorrow. We know those pairings will not change. Then the

reverse singles matches on Sunday. It is not a surface that he

particularly likes, but Kyle loves that? He does. It is not done's

favoured. It was a shrewd move to talk to Tim Henman about his

experiences on clay. He served and volleyed, he chipped and charged, he

was such a great player. The year he got the semifinals, 2004, he came in

a loss. What they have been saying to Dan Evans is, don't change your

game totally when you come on clay. That is the tendency that players

do. They think, it is clay, I have to stay back. They lose a lot of

their natural being to come into the net. I think he has to play his

aggressive style, modify it a little bit, but take changes. He will not

win standing on the back of the court. He will be taking on Jeremy

Chardy, that will be interesting. A big hitter, big serve, big forehand.

Fun to watch. This match, Edmund against Pouille, it will be greater

shotmaking as well? Pouille plays with a lot of flair. A player

playing in the Davis Cup, the crowd getting in and being behind him, I

think he is a really good player. Edmund beat Lucas Pouille earlier

this year in Brisbane, 6-3, 6-1. I know it was the first match of the

year and made you cannot look into it too much, but when a player is

beaten by that scoreline error something in the game that he feels

uncomfortable with. I think he wasn't well, he retired. He was not

so good. Kyle Edmund has proved he is not just good in tournaments, but

he loves the Davis Cup atmosphere? He has proved he can play well in

big matches in the Davis Cup. This will be a big test, Lucas Pouille is

the best player in the tie, the way he plays, his flair, the way he had

such a great year last year. But Kyle Edmund is tough on clay, he can

get his big forehand working. It gives him more time to manoeuvre on

his ground strokes. It is going to be a big test, but I think he has a

decent shot. Absolutely. Let's look ahead to this match. We will hear

from the British captain and the two players as well.

No doubt this weekend, there will be some tough moments. As a team, we

have to really pull through and dig deep. If that happens over the

course of every Davis Cup weekend, there are tough moments you have to

come through. It is about using those moments to drive you forward.

You open the tie against Lucas Pouille, then number one. What will

you make of him? A decent rise in the last 12 months? He is top 20 for

a reason. Great end of season last year. Pretty much from the middle of

the year until the end of the year, he did really well. It will be a

tough match. I played him in Brisbane and you just get a feel for

the ball against him. I think that is something I can take out of that.

How does it feel to be the number one player, leading your nation in a

Davis Cup quarterfinal? It is quite a response ability? It is, as always

I am very honoured and proud to be in this team and represent my

country. I try to leave my team as well as possible. Kyle, on the clay

court, is very dangerous. He plays well on it. You will have watched

his sets against Goffan in that final, and in Serbia he did a great

job. It's a surface that he thrives on. It is one that the players are

ready for, to go out and fight for. It comes at a good time of year. The

guys need to be on clay at this time of year. Even though the focus is on

winning this, it will set them up for what happens next.

It is an interesting time of year. Dan Evans, as we have seen at the

Australian Open, he is capable of bringing big upsets. You get the

feeling that the pressure is on Kyle. Although he is much lower

ranked, it is sort of a must win match for the British team? Yes,

although he is not the favourite on paper, when you look at the

matchups, I think Britain need to be 2-1 ahead going into Sunday if we

are going to have a chance. That would be Dan Evans against possibly

the best player on a clay court, Lucas Pouille. There is pressure,

but it is his best service. He played on a clay court in a final a

few years ago. I agree with what John was saying, he can give Lucas

Pouille a good run for his money. The crowd will play a factor. We

have seen in the past, if Pouille does not play well they can get onto

their players? The French crowd, I know they support their team

brilliantly, but they also know if their player is not playing well,

they are such good players themselves, they know when that is

happening. John has made his way to the commentary box. He is alongside

Jonathan. Good afternoon. This could be interesting? Terrific atmosphere

inside the Rouen Sports Palace. A fantastic weekend of tennis ahead,

hopefully, on the clay. Fantastic noise being generated by both sets

of supporters. British fans on both sides of the arena, rather than just

in one pocket. Another big Davis Cup challenge for this man, Kyle Edmund.

His debut was in the final of 2015. Davis Cup champion.

What a confident first service game from Kyle Edmund but was. He has

been in really good nick in practice, in Rouen.

Very confident, very at home on this surface. That is what he will look

to do through this match and the weekend, dictate with that big

forehand, John? Yes, lovely shot. Just gets more time on the clay. He

plays on grass, faster services Limato surfaces, sometimes you get

late on the ball, the backswing can be on the forehand side. Movement

sometimes gets a bit rushed. On clay, when he has time to set up

points, it is his best surface. Big occasion for Lucas Pouille. 17

in the world. Really has risen spectacularly in the last 12 months

or so. This is a big challenge for him.

Only his third call-up for the Davis Cup by his nation. He is looking to

lead the team here, he is the number one player.

You are right, with Pouille, this is a natural progression of his game,

rising up the rankings. Just getting into the French team is hard enough,

but he is leading the team and it is a big step up. He is expected to win

both singles in this tie, not easy. He really sprung to people's tension

at Wimbledon last summer. Fantastic run to the quarterfinals, hadn't

previously won a match on grass. Factors about the US Open, beat Rafa

Nadal. -- backed it up at the US Open, beat Rafa Nadal.

This is the sort of company Young Kyle Edmund is now keeping. 47 in

the world now. We'll be at the biggest tournaments, week in, week

out. Kyle Edmund saying to the umpire,

don't bother looking at the mark, I will take the second serve.

Well, that is the best shot of this very early match so far. But he

won't play many better than this. A sliced forehand. Look at the

backspin on that shot. This was totally unexpected. That is the sort

of flair that he possesses. A shotmaker. Good to watch.

Pouille just not able to get that ball deep enough in the baseline.

Kyle Edmund will like these kind of rallies, around mid-court, so he can

get round and smack that big forehand. Either side, he can go.

It's such a big weapon. The umpire is off again. Kyle is

saying it is not necessary. Didn't want to lose his rhythm and

have to wait, he knew that it was out.

Three very interesting calls from the nervous line officials early in

this match. Just a little rattled ahead of that

break point. Frustrated by the erratic line calling in the early

stages. Mentally, he is tough. Able to focus

well. So, France strike first. There is

Yannick Noah, the captain. What a player he was. 1983 Roland Garros

champion. Twice a winner of the Davis Cup before as captain, in the

1990s. This is his third spell as French captain.

A rematch, this, their quarterfinal two years ago on the grass of

Queen's Club. The nature of the Davis Cup is that you play the next

time you meet, in the opposing nation's territory. Last time it was

in London, this time we are in Rouen.

Kyle Edmund saying, don't come onto the court unless I want you to, in

those calls. Throws his rhythm of a little bit. Double fault, there.

Jamie Murray, Dominic Inglot, the doubles team for England tomorrow.

Marvellous forehand, a passing shot from a long way behind the baseline.

He's got the break back at the first opportunity! Again, dominating with

the forehand. Kyle Edmund, good work. Levels the first set, 2-2.

Promising early signs, John? From a neutral point of view it could turn

into a very entertaining match. Definitely, good tennis from both

players. They have both settled in well.

They did play earlier this year in Brisbane, on the hard court out in

Australia. Edmund was winning 6-3, 6-1, when Pouille retired from the

match. Brisbane, incidentally, also hosting

the Davis Cup this weekend, quarterfinals between Australia and

the USA. That is really nice! That is a class

from Kyle Edmund. He knew he had to hit it deeper. He could see Pouille

coming to it. A glimpse in the left-hand corner of

the fifth member of the British team, Cameron Norrie. He has been

part of the tennis system out in the United States. He will be turning

professional in May this year and will play the French Open qualifying

for the first time as a pro. Great experience for him to be here. The

nature of the British team is that when Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot

are there, there is no real back-up in terms of a third singles player.

If worst came to the worst and they had been an injury ahead of today,

it would have been Cameron Norrie playing for Great Britain. What a

story that would be! He's at university out in Fort Worth, Texas.

The youngster has also been hitting with the British team, Jake Clark,

offer to Tunisia now to play an event. Interesting to report he will

be linking up with Johanna Konta's former coach, doing 22 weeks.

Smith has been very impressed with the professionalism of the young

members of his squad he has had in France this week. Of course, that

was Kyle Edmund not long ago. Just an illustration of their of

what a weapon is that Kyle Edmund possesses. One of the best players

in the world at the other end, a top 20 player, that just could not

handle the heat of the Edmund forehand. Too much for him.

I think if Pouille decides to hit that back-end of his down the line

to the Edmund forehand, to open up the court, it goes so much onto the

back and side should take the forehand, sometimes just to change

it up and go down the line, make some dividends after that. Hasn't

done too many so far, just one. Of course, Britain would love Andy

Murray to be here this weekend. He is recovering after his elbow

problems. In Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans who we will see next, they are

both top 50 players. Jamie Murray is an established top ten doubles

player. There is a different dynamic around the team full of it is no

longer Murray and the kids. No. The thought with the British team is

that even without Andy Murray they are a well good team. Before, if

Andy Murray did not play, we were a group one team at best. Now with the

doubles team being so strong and two top 50 players, who certainly can

play with a lot of teams are maybe not the number ones, but certainly

can take care of the number twos from these countries and have a

chance to win. Andy Murray has tremendous back-up when he does not

play. It is a very strong British squad now.

Martin Corrie, closest to the camera, representing the Lawn Tennis

Association. On the board of the International tennis Federation as

well. In the centre of the picture, David

Hagerty, the fairly new president. Some big decisions to be made by Mr

Hagerty and his fellow board members about the future of this

competition. We love it once we are here, we love the atmosphere and the

competition. Good reactions from Pouille. He was

really close to the net when he played that. He was. The racket was

nearly over the net. Some of the doubles players get that close. A

very good half folly. That is what set him up. Quick reactions.

Thinking about tweaking of the Davis Cup, it is the first time when the

LTM has come in and realise there have to be changes.

-- the International Tennis Federation have come in and realise

there have to be changes. He has made it. That was a superb

shot. He thinks it is out. Richard Bathgate is in the crowd, as

is Herbert. Well played, Edmund. Richard Gasquet recovering from

appendix surgery. Herbert would definitely be in the team as cover

for Nicolas Mahut. Kyle Edmund is getting more and more

used to competing at this level. He has played Novak Djokovic a couple

of times. His Davis Cup debut in the final. Davis Cup wins under his belt

now. An absolutely fabulous run to the fourth round of the U.S. Open

last year. I think probably he would have hoped

for a few better results at the start of the season. No doubt

everything is within his grasp. A long way to go in his career. He is

improving all the while. He is defending better now than he used

to. We talk about a big forehand and the big serve. You have to defend

well in the modern game. He is stretching wide a lot better now. At

the Indian Wells this year and the US Open last year, in every area

against Novak Djokovic, he said Kyle Edmund had improved.

Sometimes, when you are a young player emerging on the talk, you are

going to take defeats particularly against someone might Novak

Djokovic. For a coach that is something that you want to watch out

for. Leon Smith will be taking to Kyle

Edmund -- taking Kyle Edmund to some of his tournaments as his regular

coach takes a break from the tour. He has a very busy schedule planned

on the clay courts. He has a tournament every week.

Kyle Edmund apologises. The mis-hit went out of court. He has a

promising situation here now. Trying to get the crowd going. An

interesting crowd, the French, with the Davis Cup. They can be very

vocal with support when their team is winning that can turn quickly if

their player is losing. The French Davis Cup record, on some occasions,

is better when they are away than at home. I think they feel too much

pressure when they are at home. Edmund hesitated a bit. The obvious

shot was a crosscourt backhand. He guided that backhand.

Therein lies the problem, when you are that far back on return of

serve, you cannot get the ball deep enough. It opens up the angle and

the forehand of Kyle Edmund steps in.

You could see his thinking. I must get depth and he makes the error.

The Frenchman has not quite got that right yet.

That is a dangerous sign from Pouille. He took that really early.

A sweet connection down the line. He is dangerous now. That was very

well played from the Frenchman. Very aggressive. Depth on his ground

strokes. He is always behind. An excellent approach shot. He made the

overhead look easy. That was not that easy. He moved his feet

quickly. So much tennis still to be played this weekend. Already this

feels like a key period in the match.

That forehand is deadly. He tried to keep it deep enough but could not.

He is trying to get that depth. This one was too short. Getting that one

down the line. He used in a couple of points previously. He needs to

work on little bit more. -- on that a little bit more.

Why didn't he come into the net? Two or three times. This one here.

Should have gone in. You kind of see what he was worried

about. Had he come in he would probably have covered more down the

line have had a winner. Anyway, he has this served to save another.

Break point here, Edmund. Sent out with the message from Leon Smith to

always stay closer to the baseline than Pouille. When he gets inside

the baseline, that is when he is deadly.

Oh, he has missed it. He has missed it. That could be a decisive break

for France in the opening set off this weekend.

Talking about France's record in the Davis Cup, it is extraordinary they

have not won it since 2001 when they went out to Australia. They took a

fantastic team but they were facing an Australian team of Hewitt and

Todd Woodbridge on grass. I was speaking to Yannick Noah about this

yesterday. I said, why have you not won it since 2001? He said, not good

enough for the P is a passionate supporter and wants his nation to

win it again soon. -- good enough - he is a passionate supporter.

Edmund is not finished in the set just yet.

45 minutes played. That point, France. -- set point will.

That is long. That needed a big effort from Lucas Pouille. He is the

highest ranked player from either team by a reasonable distance. He

will need to work to get his win for that he won the first set against

Kyle Edmund 7-5. What a great start to the end of that set for the

French team. Being caught side, I want to make a point about Kyle

Edmund and his demeanour. On this court I can see a real steely look

in his idol he is locked into his game very early. For viewers who

watched the Canada match, a really big difference for the player he was

on a fast court and was uncomfortable and went into his

shell. Down here, we cannot have a good Davis Cup tie without a good

crowd. There are two big banks of British support for this type in a

quite small stadium. We have the bank of red and another bank of

British crowd. The stadium holds 5500. A lot of British support and

encouragement for Kyle Edmund. Still all to pay for -- play for in this

match. Kyle Edmund, getting encouragement from Leon Smith. He

has been in charge of this team since 2010. The first tie against

Turkey. This is his 19th tie. Along the way, winning the whole thing,

the Davis Cup itself, in 2015. The fourth year in a row that

Britain have made the world group quarterfinals. Consistency now. As

we said earlier, establishing themselves as a world group nation.

The winners of this tie will play either Serbia or Spain in the

semifinals. Mouthwatering whichever way it goes. Britain would be home

to Serbia and away to Spain. There is not that much to say at the

changeover to Kyle Edmund from the British point of view. He played

well and his tactics were good into that one service game where he

played some tight balls and his service was not aggressive. He gave

the break away. Organic Noah would obviously have

been very happy. -- Yannick. He came through in the crunch. That is what

this level is about. They find a way, playing the right shot at the

right time. This first match of the weekend

really is important for Britain. Dan Evans has hardly ever played on

clay. He has had the occasional visit on the surface.

Again... The extraordinary and a slice that Pouille gets. This was an

amazing amount of spin but the court was a poor bounce. That was the

combination of a lot of spin and a bit of a dodgy area on the court.

Lucas Pouille is in the mood to go on and dominate, which is pleasing

the locals, of course. Kyle Edmund must find a way to restrain his

opponent. Pouille, let us remind you, he is 17 in the world and so

dangerous when he is in form like this.

Yannick Noah entertained both teams at the official dinner. He is the

captain but a very well-known and well-regarded singer in France. He

sells albums by the bucket load. He has sold more than a million copies

on one of his albums. He could not resist the microphone the other

night. Let's put it that way. A bit of an impromptu performance. He sold

out the Stade de France as well. The familiar faces of French tennis

there. A coach who has worked with pretty much every French player over

the years. Strength in depth, one of the great

features of French tennis. 11 players on the top 100. They might

be missing their top two this weekend, three of their top four. In

fact four of their top five, when you consider Gilles Simon is not

playing either. It's funny, they have been really,

really happy, the British team, with the temporary court that has been

brought in and laying inside the indoor arena. It has been playing

perfectly throughout their practice. Stringing a couple of nice points

together, that will make him feel a bit better. There were a run of

games against him, five in total, three at the end of the first set,

two at the start of the second. Not going his way, but there is a long

way to go from here. If you are a casual visitor to the Davis Cup, it

is best five. Or at least it is for now. That is one of the things that

was talked about, a possible change to best of three sets for singles.

Maybe a realisation they have to keep best of five for the doubles,

because of course there is only one match. From a crowd point of view,

you can't realistically sell tickets for just two sets of tennis. It was

one of the suggestions, possibly following the FedEx Cup format. I

think that is of the table, a lot of the players said it wouldn't make

much difference, they still have to rock above the start of the week,

three days or two days. Best of five sets would make a big difference.

Edward. -- it would. Finally, somebody has come in and

admitted there were problems with the format. Before, they just said,

well, everything is great. It wasn't great. You've got to listen to the

players. Of course. If you say it is the World Cup of tennis, you need

the very best. Having said that, as I said in the

first set, when you come here and you are part of this, when you are

in amongst it, it does feel special. It does. It is something well worth

preserving. Shame, he did really well to get

that volley, which was excellent in itself.

Very comfortable up there. Superb first volley.

With Serbia ahead, potentially, in the semifinals, there is the

intriguing prospect of maybe having Djokovic against Murray for the

first time in the Davis Cup. In a semifinal! A while to go before

then. Last year, Britain played Serbia out

in Belgrade. Kyle Edmund was very much the hero that we can. This man,

winning two matches to seal the title Britain. -- very much the hero

that weekend. Kyle Edmund, forcing quick movement

out to the backhand side. That's all he has to improve, the first split

step. Lovely arc to that forehand from

Edmonds down the line. Have to work so hard on this

surface, so much harder than the others.

He has certainly done a really good job there, hauling himself out of

that game. Still a break of serve down in this set. Could have been a

lot worse at 0-30. Double break, set almost over. He

dug in well. He had the confidence to go for it on his forehand. He

picked the right shots. France have a tradition of taking

the Davis Cup around the nation. Lille, Lyon, Nice. Here we are in

Rouen, capital of the Northern region of Normandy. They like a good

cheese board, but don't try and get a taxi after midnight! Lovely city.

Port city, on the Seine. This time, Kyle Edmund, having

earlier told the umpire to save her legs, insists that she comes down

and look at the Mark. Definitely wide, as indicated by Pouille.

Now Pouille once the umpire to have a look. He says it was long from

Edmund. And it was! Edmund, not so sure. These players get a natural

feel for when the ball comes off Mark Rowley -- comes off the

strings. It was something he was deliberately

trying to avoid in the early stages, getting the crowd against him.

He is managing this service game really well. Pouille is getting a

lot of first serves in, finding the corners. Putting pressure on him.

Three very emphatic service holds in the second set.

Just looks a little bit more rattled than in the early stages. The crowd,

not helping. An impressive 1-2 punch from Pouille

on the backhand side. Got in early, before the kick went up too high.

Went to the forehand side, then tuck that again, on the rise. Very

confident. Great effort from Edmund to reach

what was another extraordinary slice from Pouille. Just proving too

classy at the moment, the Frenchman. Hasn't hit many of these. But it is

so effective when he has. It's a great feel for that shot.

Really hard shot to make, that. Right on the line. Good hold.

These early service games, tough for Edmund. Pouille is marching through

his very quickly. Absolutely. Pouille has the luxury of a couple

of free points almost every service game. His serve has become very

accurate, hitting the corners. He just has to believe. He's got two

more chances, a set to break. Well, that is a turn up. Edmund will

realise that, he needs to seize on it.

That is the first time we have seen a guided volley from Pouille. He

should have done a lot more with that. Credit to Kyle Edmund, bending

that forehand around. Still a tough shot to make. An opening here, 0-30.

Always looking to get a chance to come in. You can see his instinct,

as soon as he was stretched wide, he knew that was the time to get in

quick. Daring, isn't it? 15-30. It

demonstrates the confidence in his own ability that he has.

His far behind the baseline, especially on the second serve.

Maybe he should move up a bit, very vulnerable to the drop shot from

distance. Chance for Edmund now, that was

tight. Low down into the torque as well. -- net.

It has been a long time since his previous break point in this match,

Kyle Edmund. He converted that. Now, chance to hit back in the second.

Dipping his serve, pulling the ball down, not staying up long enough.

Shows, if you can hang in there, he didn't do too much to win the game.

But he did set the tone with that first point.

A weird thing to say when you know you have to win at least four points

to win a game of tennis. But sometimes, winning at first point,

it can be so key to get you in the mindset, right, this will be the

one. What a turnaround. Not so long ago,

Kyle Edmund was 1-3, 0-30. Now three games in a row, he is ahead 5-4 and

the chance to pile some pressure on the home favourite, Lucas Pouille.

He is about to serve to stay in the set.

A lot of work of this changeover. His mind suddenly switched off.

Clearly winning the set pretty comfortably. Didn't look under any

pressure on his serve. Then suddenly his first serve started dropping,

two easy balls at 30-30. All of a sudden, Kyle Edmund is certainly

back in the set. Are times in that set, he looked

like he was almost accepting his fate. He was still fighting, but it

didn't look like he had any difference in his game plan, he

looked like he was going down relatively rapidly. He has been

handed a lifeline here. He has got his confidence back.

Leon Smith has been very talkative in the second set, down on the

bench. They have turned it around, between them.

As you know, once the balls are in play, there is nothing you can do,

you just have to watch. That was a fly swat, wasn't it? The

last game and a half, he has lost his game a bit, but still have the

confidence to go for that. He has that belief. The captain saying, why

on earth did you not play a game like that in the last game? Nicolas

Mahut, he will be teaming up with him for doubles. Played with each

other since they were 11. The doubles will be very

interesting. An amazing recovery shot in the

middle of that rally from Pouille, to his backhand side. This is what

we were talking about earlier in the match. Can't let him back in. Back

into the baseline, let alone inside it. Such a good athlete. How he won

that rally, he never looked like he was going to win it. It was the

depth that he got on that defensive slice. Gave him the time to regain

court position. Interesting, fantastic official,

consistently one of the best over the last ten years or so. Lives in

Britain, married a Brit. Well, he lost his serve at 5-5 in

the first set. This time he holds his serve and he and captain Smith

will hope the outcome of the set is different. He is firmly back in it.

Absolutely those he has played some good tennis. At times, Pouille has

been a better athlete on court. His weapons of different from Kyle

Edmund. The forehand from Kyle Edmund has been awful at times. He

defends better. He is a bit more aggressive at times. It has been a

very even match. Sometimes you feel he is a player who, to me, does not

look very confident. He has not had a particularly good year so far. He

looks to be not quite that confidence wise for the P is

thinking too much at the moment. A surprise defeat in the first round

of the Australian Open, Pouille, to the player from Kazakhstan and. He

won the first set 6-0. Back-to-back defeats by Donald Young in North

America. Lost to Murray in Dubai as well. In

the final in Marseille, he lost to his compatriot, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

He is not playing in this tie because he has a new father. The

joys of being a new parent, the innocence of it. How quickly things

will change! You do not know what you are in for.

An exceptional volley. Wonderful to watch.

Look at the angle! Not just a case of reaching it. The stretch and the

effort to make it. The angle of the racket head and to get that pays on

the ball. The captain love that. Full stretch Maldives, falling all

over the place. The crowd used to love him, all right. Especially in

France. The first tie-break of the weekend.

In these tie-breakers, over the best of five sets, for the person who

lost the first set it is obviously more important to them. Then on clay

in the Davis Cup, it is almost a must win tie-breaker here for Kyle

Edmund. All the sets are tie-break sets

after the rule change last season. Five tie-break sets.

Credit to Kyle Edmund at the Frenchman here is just playing an

awful tie-breaker so far. A lot of mistakes will stop --.

He has a touch of Grosjean about him, don't you think? He is here

this weekend as well. A rival from Tim Henman's era for that this is a

fascinating phase of this match, particularly considering where we

were earlier in two. Now, he is in big, big trouble, the

Frenchman. Two points have gone against his serve and it means

Edmund now has two service points to come. Win them both and we are level

at 1-1. Still he makes those audacious drop

shots. He goes for them even though he has been off in the tie-break. He

goes for a shot like this and makes it. That is a proper leg break, a

leg break off the sideline. Such accuracy in his play.

Two Willian points. -- brilliant points. Edmund didn't do much wrong

with his serve, it was just the Frenchman stepping up and taking the

ball on. Twists and turns. 5-2 up Edmund now.

It is 5-5. Another service point to come for Pouille.

Some recovery from the tie-break this, Lucas Pouille. Now it is set

.4 82-0 lead. Yannick Noah looks to the ceiling.

He cannot believe the tie-break continues and goes to another

changeover. It is great stuff. An interesting tie-breaker. Looked to

be over for Kyle Edmund. Suddenly he got inspired.

President of the French tennis Federation finding it hard to watch.

That was long. 2-0 to France. Fine, fine margins. 5-2 down when he was,

Lucas Pouille. He'd tried the most audacious backhand sliced drop shot

which just clipped the sidelines. Had that gone wide, it would have

been 6-2 and four set points for Edmund. Potentially 1-1. Now things

so different and France firmly in charge as they stand now.

So many twists and turns in the second set. How did you see it? Kyle

did well to get back into it. There was an uphill battle at the start of

the second set. He lost servers and a couple of tough games. He had to

hang in. He was up 4-1. He played some good points and was really

aggressive. Aim up a little short. It will be a long way back from

here. It has been a really close match. Lots of offence being played.

Not much defence. Very much the case of who gets the first hit in. I

think Pouille may have a slightly better served than Kyle and it has

held up better. I think he can get back into the match. I hope he

believes he can. It is a big ask to come back for him now. A big ask to

come back from two sets down. Anything he can do at the start of

the third set? He needs to keep his energy levels up. He had

disappointment from losing the first set. A lot of tennis still to be

played. Belief is key. Believe why you are a better player than that

guy. Looking ahead to the next match, how do you see the match

going? It is a tough match for Dan. I would not say he is going in as

favourite for the match. I think Dan does have a game where he can

trouble him. You don't know what you get with Jeremy Chardy. He

potentially clued out power Dan but if not, Dan will run all day and

make a lot of balls and make it ugly for him. We're hoping that is the

case. Thank you, Jamie. All the best. 7-5, 7-6 the lead for Pouille

against Kyle Edmund. Many matches over the years have been won from

two sets down. A huge challenge for Kyle Edmund. It was a huge challenge

at the start, let alone having lost the first two sets.

Challenges are what you play for, really. It is the professional

mindset. It will be a really big task for Britain in the match as a

whole should Kyle Edmund lose. Given Dan Evans lack of petition on clay

and the fact that France have named a doubles team who played in the

Wimbledon finals last summer, they will start as favourites.

A nice way to start the set when you are in a position like this.

He has picked that shot extremely well today. Is that four of those he

has made? He disguises it very well. It did not need to be on the

sideline like the one in the tie-break. Exactly.

What do you feel Edmund has to do here is to mark is there anything

more you feel in a particular aspect? I think he should move up,

particularly on the second circle when he gets the chance on Pouille's

serve. He will not be as vulnerable with the short ball. I do not think

he is playing badly. Tennis for the connoisseur. I think

that is the first point that Pouille has lost with the drop shot. That is

one thing about Kyle Edmund's game, he has improved in all aspects that

his flexibility, his game plan. If Plan A is not working, he struggles

to come up with Plan capital B. A gleam of light of a drum behind

the umpire's chair. UMPIRE: New balls, please.

Belatedly realised it was time for the new balls. The German referee of

this tie. He is on court to get them of Lucas Pouille.

He can move up a little bit on the second serve. He is still a long way

back. He did everything right. He set up

that point. A superb point. He was unfortunate with the volley. He has

not done this very often. You can see the moment he hit it, he will be

a relieved man. He surrenders so much of the court,

Kyle Edmonds, when he is that far back. You can do that if you move

like Andy Murray or Rafael Nadal. It opens up a wider angle for the line

of attack. As you say, some players are so good at squirming they can

cover it anyway. -- at serving. That is something that may be will be

talked about. 2-0 sets up and now it is 2-1 and going with serve in the

third. The Davis Cup quarterfinal, France beating Japan in the first

round. Japan without Nishikori. If they win this one, they will be

against Serbia. Great Britain beating Canada in the first round

who were without me los Raonic. They played them in Belgrade last year.

They have played them before in Telford. A great history between

these two. A 22nd Davis Cup meeting between the two nations. New played

a pretty impressive tie in 1978 at Roland Garros. You have been looking

at me with a perplexed look. That is simply too far back! I think I lost

against Yannick Noah in that one. You also played in a zonal semifinal

at is born where Britain won 4-1 against France. -- Eastbourne.

Now that's a shot we haven't seen a lot of from Kyle Edmund. The

backhand down the line. It can be a real weapon. It has been

in so many of his matches in his young career. He plays it with his

upright stance. A really good back lift and follows through it worked

to perfection there. And right on queue he gives us

another one. A slightly different re different height. He had to bend the

knees a little more. It could be an effective tactic moving forward.

I think it's a good play. He doesn't do it very often. That's the thing

that is surprising more than anything else.

Super. I think we've seen a little of that

with Kyle Edmund. He's made a huge improvement. But sometimes when he

is getting beaten, he tends to keep playing that way - you have to

change it up when you are losing. Ooof! Not like a complete change. It

is not like he lost easily in the first two sets. They were close. A

couple of points here and there. But just subtle changes.

Well, a missed drop shot followed by a double fault.

If there is to be a turning point in this match, perhaps this is it.

Oh, just too good. Edmunds seemed to be in charge of

this rally, up until this shot here, boom!

Oh, he was going for an abroute Hayemaker there. On the break point.

. He was going to have to hit a winner from out far and wide.

He would have had an open shot in an open court.

So two break points in the game for Kyle Edmund. In the first there was

that fantastic crosshand forehand which left him no chance, meaning he

had to go big on the second. That didn't work.

Well, that's been a future of the match, really. A few dips. You get

them in the best of five-set matches but with Pouille there has been a

few games where he has thrown the errors into groups. The chances have

been there for Kyle Edmund and he hasn't quite taken then. But you

look at this and think, if he condition still hang in there and

cuts out the third set. This is still possible. Pouille still don't

look completely confident in himself. There are periods when he

goes off and seems to doubt himself. Pouille took the return of serve in

the first point in this game pretty early and it surprised Edmund a

little. I'm not saying it's why weave just

seen the double fault but perhaps he was just pushing to pin his opponent

a little deeper. Second serve at 0-30. Already two

sets down. Oh, boy. Double faults in a row.

He could be in big trouble in this game.

A poor game there, unfortunately. Pouille not really having to do too

much to break serve there. We were talking about comebacks from

two sets to love down, there have been many of them over the years.

But two sets and a break and the number of comebacks. Not quite so

great. Just the two games now from victory,

Lucas Pouille. He's played well. We were talking earlier about the need

for him to step up as leader of this team on the court. You feel that

he's done just that, so far. Well, Pouille indicating that is

well long but even so, Edmund instructing for them to mark it

long. Again, a sign of the Englishman's frustration.

Well Edmund maybe required again, coming out of the draw to play the

first match as number two player, he may have to play the first match and

the last match. But if Britain make it all the way to a deciding rubber,

that is going to be an incredible achievement from here. It's just

hard to see where the three victories will come from if Pouille

wins this match, John. I think Dan Evans is the wildcard of

the tie. On paper, clay courts, he has not played that much at the top

level but he's an interesting character, Dan Evans and he has an

interesting way of playing. If he executes his game and doesn't get

too bogged down with the thought it's clay, he might throw a surprise

in. But it is tough to see it after the way that this match is going.

He looked sharp in practice, yesterday, Evans. The approach will

definitely be a fearless one, that's for sure. That's what Leon Smith

wants to see. And that's really encouraging. Why not? Play your way.

Give it a go like Henman did in 2001 and almost won the thing. For all of

Henman's Wimbledon semi-finals, you could say that the French Open was

the best chance of winning a slam. I've forgotten who he was playing in

the final! Yes! Gaston Gaudio.

There you go. Now, Edmund needs to keep winning

point after point here. Serving to stay in the match.

Thinking back to that year at Roland Garros, 2004, Henman in the finals,

the most devastating was that finals. Straight sets, an absolute

blitz of serve, volley, chip, charge.

Edmund keeps the match alive here. And the Argentine had absolutely no

idea what hit him. That element of surprise is sometimes what is

lacking in professional tennis, John? Players have their own

strategy, their way of going about thing, come on, shock us. Give us

something different. You never know. That's right. And clay-court tennis,

there is a pace to it. Sometimes if you alter that pace and do something

different, unexpected it can pay dividends.

So Dan Evans to come against Jeremy Chardy.

Will we see surprises from the man from Solihull? Because here, Lucas

Pouille is close to victory for France.

Well, he's flying high, Lucas Pouille and he's leading his nation

to the perfect start in this Davis Cup quarter-final. Because after two

hours and ten minutes, which is nothing, really, on a clay-court, he

has two match points to give France. It gives France the perfect start.

Great work from Lucas Pouille. It really was. That was a dangerous

match for him. Against the big-hitting Kyle Edmund.

And Edmund did stand toe-to-toe. And especially in the tie-break. That

one that got away. But Lucas Pouille, the highest ranked player

in either team across the weekend, emphasised that fact. 17 in the

world and for good reason. So now, from a France point of view,

the opportunity with Jeremy Chardy to take a 2-0 lead after the opening

day, against a man in Dan Evans, who has hardly ever played on clay in

his career. But from a British point of view this is going to take an

almighty comeback to get the three points needed a across a Davis Cup

weekend. Where will the points come from? The doubles is a must-win from

the British point of view. So that is Murray and Inglot against Nicolas

Mahut and Julien Benneteau. They have both played in finals and who

over the years have been an established team. And on the final

day it will be Evans against Pouille. And on this form, Pouille

would start the strong, strong favourite author that one.

Edmund in a potential decider against Chardy. But that is way, way

down the line. As things stand, France are even firmer favourites to

reach the semi-finals than they were before the start of play today.

So, 1-0 to France. They have the advantage here in Rouen as Pouille

defeats Kyle Edmund. We have Dan Evans coming up against Jeremy

Chardy in about 20 minutes' time. We are happying to hear from the

winner, Pouille. A couple of French interviews. Jamie is poised to speak

to the winner. John Lloyd is with me. John, he was too good. The

second set tie-break is where it changed? That was the key, wasn't

it, really. Pouille at times played so brilliantly. But then went off

the boil and Kyle Edmund, you thought he could nick this one set

and maybe get through it. But the tiebreaker, I must say, that is when

you see top 20 player accelerate. He was down 5-2 and he came up

brilliantly. Kyle Edmund did nothing wrong but Powell Powell was just too

good. As far as Pouille is concerned, you

have to give him a couple of chances and he takes them. That's the

quality of the player now. Exactly. But this is a big match for

him. He comes in and is expected to win the two matches, before he was a

part of the team. Now he is in and he's the leader. I thought he played

well under the pressure. And he can prove he can play. A potential top

ten player this year. And let's show you some of the match, 5-2 up, it

looked like he was in control here. But we spoke about the variety of

Pouille, the drop shot and look at that.

It was outrageous to go for it then. That was brilliantly executed. Then

he gets back and where has that shot been. He hasn't used that much and

then goes for it again and creates a winner.

When this starts happening at 5-2 up, mentally then you start doubting

yourself on the key points. You don't want to miss or give it

away. You are hesitant. Then you can see how aggressive Pouille was at

the end of the tiebreaker. It is tough for Leon Smith to lift

Kyle Edmund. He knows it is such an opportunity. He is a fighter out

there but Pouille senses that he had his man now and he wasn't going to

let him go. I thought it was brilliant. The last

few points are just class, really. You can see the confidence. Running

around, hitting winners from all over the place. And Kyle Edmund,

only he tried hard. He didn't give up but to me his B plan is there,

and when someone is on top of him, he tends to go away and he sometimes

has to change his game a little. Subtle differences, be a little more

aggressive. Take the second set on early. Go down the line to do

something to change it up. To me it is when he is losing, he goes away,

a little too quickly in my opinion. It is difficult when a player with a

variety of shot has Pouille has, to get a winner and he was giving so

many winners out there. These type of French players are

very good. They have shots that they come up with that are very

imaginative. Sometimes they go through a patch where they miss easy

balls and you think he is going, then they come up with a shot like

Pouille did with the flair and the variety. They are brilliant to

watch. I love watching the French players. Pouille is next in line. He

is coming up amongst the big boys. I think he will take over the way he

is playing. They have seven players in the top

50. I am hearing that Jamie is poised and ready to speak to Lucas

Pouille. Lucas, congratulations on the win.

What was the key to your success today? I think I took the

opportunity when it started to be very important. In the important

moment. I've been aggressive and solid at

the same time. I came back from 5-2 down in the tie-break in the second

set. Leading two sets to love was the key.

France is a tennis nation of so much class, so many big names, how did it

feel to lead your country out as the number one player? It was a great

feeling. Especially with the win. It would have been more difficult with

a loss. But I'm very happy with the way that I played. With them all

behind me. We've spent a great week together, even if the old three were

not there. To see them, even if this are not playing, for me, it give as

lot of energy. I'm very happy. It is now Jeremy Chardy against Dan

Evans, how do you see that match going? Jeremy has played amazing

tennis during the week, that's why he's been selected. We practiced one

day, he put 3-6 to me. So I hope he is going to win. But I know that Dan

Evans is a great player. But I say Jeremy, as he is my friend and my

countryman. Thank you very much.

You have to say, although he is talking about the players not there,

it is all because of patternity leave, injury and illness. But it

shows a class nation it is, as far as France is concerned.

We are so happy to have Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans coming up the

rankings. We have two players in the top 50, not counting Andy Murray.

But the French have them all over the place. They are a great nation.

And I love the way of the camaraderie, the way that Richard

Gasquet and Pierre-Hugues Herbert came out to support them.

It is a big ask to be world number 17 there. Heon has to lift his team,

to make them believe. You've been in the captain's chair but there is a

long way to go? He does. With Dan Evans, we spoke about unpredictable

players. He is different to what most players play. In some ways, Dan

Evans will fancy this. He goes out there, he loves the Davis Cup. We

have seen him play. This is clay, different to what he has his normal

successes on. But if he goes out with the mentality to play his game,

to put himself out there, yes, it is red but play like it is green or

blue, who cares! I think he will surprise people.

And as far as Kyle is concerned he must be ready to come out and play

what could be the final rubber? We have a team of fighters. Leon Smith

formed a greater team. OK, Andy Murray is not here, it is a loss for

us but there are fighters here. This is the first rubber. It's not over

yet. We have a very good doubles player. Even without Andy with

Tomorrow Inglot and Jamie Murray. But we are not out of it yet, Great

Britain. It is a fascinating tie. But it is not over. We didn't really

expect to win this first match. Pouille with such a fabulous

Wimbledon and US Open, not so good this year but he seems to have found

his confidence, that is worrying? He is a class player. There is the

variety, the shot selection. As he said with Jamie, when he needed to

he was aggressive and solid. He was. There were a couple of lapses but

then it was back to business. Annan Yanukovich, the captain, there was

the inspiration, the changeover. You could see that. There was a lot of

pressure on him. If he lost this match, the Davis Cup match tie

changes. He proved his pedigree so hats off to him.

I have seen outside Jeremy Chardy. Like he needed the peace and quiet.

He had a big match coming up, he needed fresh air! They have spoken

about how he plays in practice. But practice is not the match. We will

see. And we will talk about that. Jeremy

Chardy is taking on Britain's Dan Evans in Rouen. And this is how the

matches stand at the moment. Belgium is hosting Italy.

That is in Charleroi. Steve Darcis and Paolo Lorenzi

playing there. Italy has no Fabio Fognini. He is

not competing for Italy. So Belgium are very much the favourites.

Australia are 2-up. We have been talking about the amazing win from

top of torch torch. Beating US number one, Jack Sock in four sets.

And Leyton Hewitt was delighted with that win and his attitude. A

wonderful attitude on court. And Nick Kyrgios put them two up. He has

promised the Australian nation to give them 100% and more. There was a

bit of racket throwing and swearing but he won it in three sets against

John Isner. Only two were tie-breaks. Then obviously it is

France against Great Britain, playing the winner of Serbia against

Spain. Serbia have very much in the driving seat against Spain. Spain

haven't got so many players, they don't have Rafael Nadal, Lopez or

Verdasco. So a worrying theme. A lot of people are talking, about

changing the Davis Cup format. That will be something that we will be

talking about over the weekend? We have to say good to the ITF

president for making changes. They are not committing the change it for

that if the players want to play three sets, make it three sets. The

players are all wanting change and the fans do not. The difficult thing

is that something will have to give. Something from the ATP will have to

give full it was only there to years ago we were talking about there is

far too much tennis. We have seen players at the end of their careers

playing less tennis. How many tournaments will Roger Federer play?

You cannot have it both ways in order to get top players playing in

this competition more often, there probably have to be two or three

less tournaments each year for that to happen every year for the

otherwise you look at options like having a Davis Cup every other year.

I'm not sure that will happen for that they are trying to cram in more

eventful top talking about the best of three sets for the singles

griping will lose some of the drama. Players often do not start well and

come back to win in five. It could be too short of a Saturday afternoon

for the doubles. I think you are right. The doubles will have to be

five sets. With doubles, you are only playing half the court. They

have to do something. If that is what the players want, the top ten,

the top 20, they will need to do that. Otherwise we will need to see

more commitment. As a team competition for tennis, we love it.

The spectators love it will stop when the players get out here, they

moaned a little bit but they love it as well. Whatever they have to do to

get them out here, let's make them happen all stop you need to get the

top 20 players in a room from last ten years and see what they want.

What will give you an opportunity to commit nine times out of ten for

Davis Cup matches? Once you have that, put that into play. We saw

Roger Federer. He was desperate to win the Davis Cup. Novak Djokovic

talks about it. They won it in 2010 and it was one of the best moments

of his life. Andy Murray loved it. Once they have won it, it is like,

do they want to put themselves through it for a second time? It is

so draining. Some events are right after the Grand Slams. You are

adding on six or seven weeks of intense competition into your

calendar. It is not an intensity of a regular ATP Tour event. Not even a

Masters Series. It is an intense environment, especially if you are

playing five set matches. There has to be a solution. The competition is

fantastic. We have witnessed some unbelievable occasions that are so

good for the game of tennis. Let's get everyone in a room and tried to

come up with a solution. The match cannot be too far away. One final

word, sometimes it is too much in the schedule. On court, all the

sponsorships, all the events they must go to and and they have to

shake. As Jamie said, players now can have longevity. Look at Roger

Federer extra measure what we want our top players to play like that.

The Davis Cup at the moment is tough for them to commit to every year. I

am sure the debate will continue. As for the next match, Dan Evans, as

John was saying, he must forget he is on the clay court. He is against

a difficult opponent. At the start with the first match, we were

talking about the fact it was a clay court and the natural style of play

that Dan Evans wants to play. It is not just about trying to get into

the net as much as possible, when you look at Dan Evans game, it is

about putting your opponent into difficult position. If it means

coming into the net then fine. Find a way on the clay court. That is the

key. The French Cockrell is behind us. That's slightly distracted me

for just a moment. Understandable. As for Cha de, Yannick Noah sat

watching the practice. -- Chardy. It is a brave call by the French

captain, isn't it? It is. Davis Cup players do not practice great in

practice but you know they will come out for a match day well. Dan does

not have that luxury. He has an inexperienced team in some ways with

Chardy and temporary. -- Pouille. It is a brave call in some ways but you

must go with your gut reaction sometimes. They are very different

in style. The waypoint -- the waypoints will go will very much be

on his racket. It is a defining factor for him. Simon has been

struggling a bit with form. Whoever he plays actually will have a real

chance of getting into the match and causing damage. That might not be

the case with Chardy. He has a big enough game. I think damn quite

likes people coming at him. -- Dan. On the clay court, his confidence

has been bad. The matchup is not great for Dan Evans against Simon.

How is down going to win five set against Simon with the amount of

balls he gets back and the awkward positions he gets you into? With

Chardy, there could be a lot more mistakes. Obviously, Yannick Noah

was not impressed with Simon in practice. Chardy models himself on

Pete Sampras. He wants the big serve and he wants to make things happen

off his serve. He gives Dan a chance and he is a skilful player. He uses

the slice very well. You are right. You will see Chardy go for big

second serves. I will have to redefine that. I have been watching

Kyrgios where his average second serve was over 120 miles an hour.

Watching the Miami tournament and seeing Kyrgios and a match he played

against Roger Federer, you think there are some youngsters who are

coming up and will be quite special. It was outstanding, wasn't it?

Kyrgios has taken another step up. He was outstanding for them it is

only a matter of time before he wins a Grand Slam. He still breaks

rackets. He loves breaking rackets. He needs about ten every time he

plays a match. He looks like he carries the presence of a Grand Slam

winner. A few years ago you would think he did not have it but I think

he has it now. Kyrgios, apart from the personality, the shot making, he

is so watchable, isn't he? Tennis is crying out for someone like this. I

know he gets a lot of bad press but you cannot have it all. We hope to

be in a position in the next two or three years where we will lose

Federer, who has probably been the best player to watch ever. To have

someone like Kyrgios, who will boost viewing figures for tennis, it will

be amazing. A very relaxed Jeromy Chardy, along with Janet Noah. No

one loves Davis Cup more than Gallic knower. -- knower. He will be

leading out Jeromy Chardy. That is the match we are looking

forward to. Chardy up against Dan Evans.

Let's talk about your relationship with clay for a minute. How would

you describe it? I don't really have a relationship with it. I have not

played on it much. I liked it as a junior. We will see what happened.

Why have you not played as much as other services? I did not need to

last year or the year before. I was playing the challenges and I stuck

to my favourite surface, and the one I could get the most points from. It

is not a matter of avoiding it. It was the best place to play, in Asia

last year. How can you get Dan Evans to get some wins on this surface,

considering how little he has played on it in his career? It is a big

challenge. I think he can play on it but he has not had much time on it.

He has not had many matches. Last year he chose to go and play in

Asian hard-core challenges, which was the right decision for him but

that meant he missed the clay court season again. He has a lot of

skills. He moves grateful he has a good tennis brain and will have to

figure out a way of how to put his offensive game and different game on

a clay court and that could take some time but I think he is capable

of playing with matches on here. Is it about balancing your attacking

instinct with clay court strategies? I still have to be aggressive,

otherwise I will get knocked off the court. Hitting the ball hardest on

clay courts. It is about getting forward and making the other guy

move. It is a big change for Dan, thinking he will play Simon and now

Jeromy Chardy. I think he must find a way to make points, make things

happen within a point. Play his game effectively. The last time I saw Dan

play a big match on a clay court was in 2013. On that day he got killed.

Physically, as an athlete, he could not compete. He was not in a match.

Now he is a genuine top 50 player. The question is, the physical side

that has built up over the years and the mental side which has allowed

him into the top 50, will that make him competitive on the clay court? I

do not see why not that he is not playing Federer. He will have a

chance to get into this match. He is a totally different player from two

years ago and he is a big match player. He has been there and done

it in Davis Cup. He plays different shots from a lot of other players on

the tour. On clay, you watch the French Open and 90% of the draw

plays the same style. Dan Evans plays something different. They like

with them before they get into the big rally points and get accustomed

to a certain pace. If Dan Evans plays the right way, he will not

give them that pace. He will try different things all the time.

Sometimes it can work. Let's see how Dan has coped on the

clay. His last match was back in 2015. That was the last time he

played a competitive match. It is not his favourite surface. Dan is a

different player. At Sydney, he went through to the final and then that

amazing run he had at the Australian. He has gone from

strength to strength. Last year, it was all about, I want to get my

ranking to a point that I can get directly into the Grand Slams will

he play challengers in time for Wimbledon. He did that for the he

made the third or fourth round of the US Open. That was the right

decision. It was not that he was avoiding the clay. What that means

is it extends the length of time he has not played on it. This year is a

very different story. His ranking is he has to play on the clay. He has

two Masters Series. He will play out a relatively full clay court season.

That is the way it is. You need to play a full clay court season. You

have to play on all surfaces. If your top 50, you have to do that.

The best of a five set match, the Davis Cup, that is a big ask. He can

become a good clay-court player if he puts his craft out that knows how

to manage it in the proper way on clay. If he starts off badly, the

captain will say, you are doing fine. It will come. Depending on the

state of the match when you have someone on court with you, that will

help a lot. He has been fiery in the past. Definitely. Two things about

the French that have always interested me. How have they got so

many players? It blows my mind every time. Secondly, the difference

between the French in Great Britain, their captain has sold a million

albums. How different is that? A musician as their Davis Cup captain.

Are you saying that Leon should start a band? John will take up the

guitar in the captain's chair. As for Dan, we have talked about the

big serve Chardy but also a huge forehand, which will win him a lot

of points. He has a big game. He is talented. I will be fascinated. The

ideal situation for him will be the team at 1-0 up. He is 1-0 up so he

can open up his shoulders a bit. The pressure not on him so much as if he

had had to play their first match will stop both players have so much

to prove for different reasons. Chardy has elevated to a clay-court

match for his country and Dan Evans has not won on clay. Dan Evans is

the more experienced player in Davis Cup by a long way. Jeromy Chardy,

the last time he played in the Davis Cup was in 2011. This is really

tense time do you think the first few games of the first set will be

important? I think it could be. Both players will have different

feelings. For me, it is almost more important for Chardy to start well.

Dan Evans has done that before. For Chardy, in the Davis Cup, it is a

big step up for him. I think it is probably more important for the

Frenchman to start better than Dan. 1-0 up in the quarterfinal of the

Davis Cup. It is the Italian in the chair for this one. Dan Evans for

Great Britain. What a moment! What a challenge! He did not play at all on

clay last season. Any futures events in 2015. One match in qualifying for

Roland Garros. At Davis Cup, a dead rubber in 2013. Such a bear

clay-court record but can he transferred his undoubted skills

onto the red stuff to cause an upset here today? I say upset but Evans is

the higher ranked player he is 44 compared with Chardy, who is 68 in

the world. Everyone here today, making the late change in the French

and the two the favourite for this one.

A great start from Evans. Chardy will be coming at him. No doubt

about that. Two of the nonplaying members of the

French squad. Richard A decent start from Jeromy Chardy.

He has made the best transition from the American hard courts onto the

clay. Talking to panic no yesterday, they wanted to see who made the

adjustment the quickest. -- Yannick Noah. Chardy was the man to make the

best transition. That is something we look for. Also, Chardy had a lot

of confidence from meeting Marin Cilic in Miami, which offers the

help with any kind of recovery. -- obviously helped.

Still lots of movement in the crowd. Spectators are late.

Tactically, a clear message that Leon Smith has sent out to Dan

Evans. On the first serve, follow it up with a big hit.

Likewise, on return of serve, if you get a look at the second serve, do

the same thing. A big hit and then approach. Sort of fearless tennis,

which surely is the only way for Dan Evans today.

Just wide from Evans on the slides. The perfect start for Chardy. He is

a man with an ever increasing connection with Great Britain. Not

only has he just moved to South Kensington, in London, this lady

here is a British model out getting married at the end of the year.

Congratulations to them. Setting up camp in one of the more salubrious

parts of London. Handy for Queen's, I said to him yesterday. And he said

prof Andy for parties. -- handy for parties.

This is just the sort of tennis that Chardy has been putting out in

practice, which has earned him the selection. Very naturally, he has

slotted into the pace of the clay-court. Good shape on his ball.

It is interesting to see Chardy struggle with the ball toss. That is

something the British camp have picked up on. It happened a lot in

his match against Andy Murray. He had a really bad day with the ball

toss. Something to keep an eye on as this

match develops. Again there, somehow, using the arch

of the back to strike that really impressively again. It looked like

ball toss not ideally as he would have liked it. I have played Chardy

in the juniors and his action has hardly changed. Surely he will catch

that! It is quite a day, isn't it? It is

the first Davis Cup appearance by Chardy since 2011 when he won two

singles matches. Prior to that he played a dead rubber in 2009 against

the Netherlands but that is it that is his Davis Cup record. It is a

sign of the strength that France has that people of his calibre cannot

normally get a look in. Quite astonishing. Ever since I have been

consciously able to think about tennis, you have seen an almost

relentless conveyor belt of tennis players. When you come over to

France, you see how much they get behind an event like this. You can

see this is not a one off. France loves tennis. It is a big part of

their lives. No great surprise. The minute that passed the welcome to

Rouen sign, what did I see? A tennis court. It is pretty much like that

in every town. Well this is very worrying from a

British point of view. Chardy look as man determined, not just to win

this match but to win the title for France and retain his place in the

team. Now a couple of spectators,

completely nonchalantly wondering behind Chardy at the moment.

Oblivious to the fact that there is anything going on. They are about to

sit down, I can report - any time today would be lovely. Thank you!

That was completely on the other side of the court. He was confident

from where he was sitting and now even more confident from an even

closer inspection. And that was right on the line, plum

on the line from Chardy. He's going to get his second break point in the

game. That was a very big difference to

that slice, versus the five or six before it. That shot through and

kept low. Anything less than that on a clay-court, and Chardy has so much

time to wind up. The ball is just sitting up.

His work for the day is done. The question now is will he be required

again? Looking at the sweat showing, hard

work after just 18 minutes of play but this game is going to be longer

than that. An effort required at the moment

just to get one game. Let alone a set, let alone three

sets. Oh, yes. That Dan Evans backhand,

it's a lovely shot when it's working.

Chardy looks so comfortable. He's just in every rally, isn't he?

We were talking about the plan to get to the net where possible from

this point of view. Once there, the test is always to test the Chardy

backhand-oh, well. Well, thumbs up from the new

President of The French tennis federation. His team are certainly

doing the business here. 4-0, Jeremy Chardy.

Named in the original five-man squad by Yanis Varoufakis but only

selected for the team on Wednesday. -- by Yannick Noah.

He's been as high as 25 in the world, Chardy, that was in 2013. A

final run to the quarter-finals of the Australian Open that year.

And again, there, Jamie Baker, an illustration of his ability to arch

that back and get a freakish angle with the serve.

Really quite unorthodox. The elbow is so low but what an angle. That

was barely halfway up the box on that sideline. Unplayable.

215 kilometres per hour, that one, unreturnable. And at the moment,

unplayable as Jeremy Chardy moves into a 5-0 lead, first set.

He loves playing at home, Chardy as well. That is another reason why

Noah was confident to bring him in. Not everyone responds confidently to

an atmosphere such as this. Looking at his French Open runs he has 15

runs in total. Twice in the fourth round. He beat David Nalbandian in

2005, quite some effort. Two years ago, he beat David Goffin, another

Goodwin on his record. He lost to Andy Murray in the the last three

years, he has lost to Djokovic and others. Who knows how far the he

could have been if the draw had not been so unkind in certain ways.

Dan Evans for Great Britain, trying as hard as he can to avoid a 0-set

against him. You see the pattern of this ever

time when the slice comes out with the extra bit of time, when the

racket face opens, Chardy knows. He is there, no matter where the slice

lands, he will get a forehand on it. Well that's nice! Chardy is just one

of those players who loves to run around the backhand at every

opportunity, to give himself as many forehands over the course as

possible. Dan Evans on the ball! It's taken

him 28 minutes! A very necessary feeling from a British point of

view. I'm sure you're thinking watching at

home, as we are here, he's going to do himself a nasty injury, if he

keeps arching his back that much but, Jamie has been telling us it's

what he's been doing since junior days and somehow he's survived.

Evans tried to do the right thing. You can imagine he has talked about

that all week. This is what we will do but it's the great illustration

of a difference of a clay-court. That serve bounced above his head.

He hit the chip charge above his height. It's not easy.

Well after winning just two points on the Chardy serve in the

Frenchman's three service games, now it's 15-40. Two break points for

Evans. Stepping right in to approach the

second serve, almost as if he has to half-volley a couple, the way that

Federer started doing a couple of years ago.

These are the points that the British team are wanting to avoid

with Evans stuck miles behind the baseline.

And the umpire finally overruling the line call as both players were

happy it was a fault. Oh, well a couple of

uncharacteristic errors in that game, and Evans has one of the

breaks back. And the way things have been going,

Jamie, 5-0 down, that's a decent fight back from Evans.

He is fighting well. 0-5, battling to hold. Now having got the break

back, you think that Evans' second break was a long break. But there

are signs he is finding a bit more of a pattern. He is hitting over a

few more. I think it's a good idea.

You spoke about the extra height a ball can get on a clay-court,

especially with the spins that Chardy is able to implement with his

extreme grip, how hard is that to get over the top of the ball height

high to your back when you are not the tallest as Evans is? It really

makes a difference. Especially like Dan, if he wants to come forward. If

you want to take the ball early, unless it is really early, you have

to wait for the ball to come over and down the bottom and the other

side of the arc, so then you are behind the baseline. You really have

to commit. And committing, like you are alluding to, half-volley, type

of stuff, it is not easy to do. Then, of course, Jamie, you have the

sliding on the clay. Such a difficult skill to get the timing of

it right, the recovery, strike, when you just don't play on the stuff.

And when Evans plays so little on clay. It must sob alien to him. That

is the key point, in terms of the movement.

It's the time spent on the surface, obviously. The French kids they

spend all their life from a very young age on the clay. They get used

to it. His last tournaments on the clay

were, you had to go back to May, 2015. A couple of $10,000 Future

events in Egypt. Oh, yeah. That's good from Chardy.

Forehand to break the set point and then a backhand to convert it.

Jeremy Chardy firmly in control of this one, justifying his captain's

decision to give him the nod after Gilles Simon in this match. But Dan

Evans, accomplished on the tour to get to a ranking of had 4. This time

last year, he was 120 in the world. This time two years ago, he was 760

in the world -- Evans is accomplished on the tour to get to a

ranking of 44. All of his points accrued in the US

Open. Then it fell off for a year. And then suddenly, he was way down

the list. So to get from 760 to 44 in two years, gives an insight into

how hard that is. It's a phenomenal effort. But the

other point to makes a to where Dan Evans is today, in the top 50 in the

world, it is not the same as some who have been on a steady, more

comfortable path, Kyle Edmund was but Dan Evans has missed probably

three years worth of tennis at the top level for various reasons,

injuries, loss of focus. But I think that is exciting. Now if he can find

the consistency over the next two years, who knows where he could be?

Playing on the tour, day-to-day, where he could actually get to.

At 26 years of age, it is nothing these days.

Professional tennis players just get older, stay in the sport longer,

peak at a later age. There's ten years in him yet.

You would have thought two formed players in 2017 here at the start of

the clay-court season, would have been Nadal and Federer.

Incredible. It is interesting now that Federer

has gone public to say he will not play more tennis before the French

Open. You can see his plan. Well not abad attempt from Evans to

cut off the cross-court shot from Chardy. But the Frenchman always had

things in control, you felt. And yet Federer is Federer but it

goes to show if you look after your body, and manage your schedule, you

can keep going. There is absolutely no reason why

your best tennis can't be in your 30s, as so many players are

improving. Sloop.

He was saying to Rafa, he is good on the clay. I'm sure he will tear it

up. The umpire very irritated at that

call out from the crowd. Not as irritated as Evans was.

A little bit of talk -- topic. Federer, having won the Australian

Open and Miami, he has only lost one match all year. It does make you

wonder what else he can achieve this season.

Djokovic and Murray with back injury concerns. Do you think Federer has

his sights on number one again? I don't think he's massively bothered

by that at this time. I certainly think he feels another Grand Slam

title is out of his reach and that mindset has changed now, no

question. Dominant play from Chardy, supported

by his fiancee, in the checked shirt .

That is the tactic. Leon Smith liked seeing that. You need good depth and

paste to that approach shot for it to be an effective play. A good

enough serve to set it up beforehand.

Kyle Edmonds and Clark on the bench. The two younger lads will look to

Edmund and thinking what a position he is in. Ten three macro would have

played had there been an injury. The way Clark is going, at 18 years of

age when he will be in this team in the future with any luck.

That was clever from Chardy. From that ability of the upper body to

change the angle is deceptive. Such a subconscious ability of knowing

the surface. Knowing wrong footing Evans, he would have had no chance.

That was great work from Evans. The minute he had the opportunity to

retake centre ground and reclaim position at the baseline, here he is

too deep. Now he is able to step in. The first of those forehands really

worked for him. It is slim pickings, isn't it? This

is the thing. The occasional point, the occasional sequence of points.

The first set has gone to France and Chardy is not backing off. Is there

anything else you would like to see from Dan Evans? Anything more he

could realistically do? I think he is moving in the direction I was

thinking. He is slicing to match. There is not enough commitment to

the slides. In the last few games we have seen him step back from the

baseline and little bit too hit a few backhands. From an offensive

position you take a choice as to whether you want to hit an

aggressive slice or come over it again put it is a tough assignment.

He is thinking all the time about how he can find his feet and get a

footing in this match. We have talked about that given his lack of

clay-court play. Chardy has been very impressive. He is an offensive

player that he looks so comfortable. He does. And he talked about his

excellent win in Miami over Marin Cilic. Before that, he played a top

ten player at the Indian Wells. No disgrace losing that one for the

quarterfinals of Montpellier, lost to Nishikori. In Doha, he lost to

Murray in the first round. The times he has left a tournament early are

times when he has come across a really top layer. That is hard when

your ranking is where he is. You're never going to get seeded, even at a

500, 250 events, you are probably not going to get seeded.

That makes the fact that Evans, 44 in the world, all the more

impressive. Masters Series event on the clay. He will be in Rome and

Madrid. He will be gracing those famous old

clay courts with play like that. Rome and Madrid this year from Sharm

el-Sheikh two years ago and a $10,000 total prize pool. That is a

proper journey. What was interesting, talking to

Leon Smith yesterday, coming from where he has come from and barely

playing on clay at all, not at all last season, every single win this

year will count in his favour ranking point wise.

And, of course, they'd talk about it a lot in tennis with the way the

ranking system in tournament is set up. When you are in those big

tournaments, one win, two wins is a lot of points. He does not need to

get to quarterfinals, semifinals, to make a difference. Everything helps.

He is trying to climb up as high as he can. I am not suggesting he will

get to the latter stages of the tournament by giving his experience

on the surface, but it is a challenge and he is looking forward

to it. A slightly strange bounce?

Absolutely shocking. We saw a few of those in the previous match. I am

not sure you could say that is a bounce, more of a role.

I think that might have been the first shot where he actually looked

a little bit rushed. He was just grateful to have a

chance to execute the pre-match tactics.

Get in wherever possible on the second serve. Still game point.

And there again an illustration of just how tough this court can be.

You have your tactics. One more point goes by and you barely get a

racket on the ball and the game has gone. Mentally, you have to keep it

together for so long, just to grind these matches at, on this surface

more than any other. When the two players are out there, the mental

battle and the mental game. The setback, it really makes a

difference in these matches. The surface is an interesting point.

With the way tennis has gone over the last five, six, seven years, in

terms of the surfaces have all become closer and there is less

variety on the surface. This is a great illustration. For British

players, you have Kyle Edmonds and Dan Evans. If you put Dan Evans on

our hard-core he would hit a lot of forehand winners. Bring him on here

when the bounce is suddenly at shoulder height, head high, compared

to waist height, it really does make a difference.

He is trying. He is really trying. Nothing is working in this game.

Well called. That just about sums up that game from an Evans point of

view. A break of serve to love. Chardy, the London residence, firmly

in control. Another little link he has with

Britain, his coach since 2013 used to work for the LTA. Would have had

plenty of contact with Dan Evans at that time, the Swedish player.

This Davis Cup quarterfinal, the fourth year in the -- a row that

Britain had made this stage. Playing for the right to meet either Serbia

or Spain in the semifinals. Serbia have gone 1-0 up in that tie with

Djokovic winning. Djokovic returning to action in the

Davis Cup after injury. That is really unusual.

Belgium are 1-0 up against Italy. Belgium are the finalists from two

years ago. Australia is already 2-0 up on USA. Nick Kyrgios as well. He

beat John Isner. We are hearing as well that Marcus Baghdatis, the

Cypriot player, he is a man with a phenomenal Davis Cup record. He is

the one while class player and his lowly level has actually lost.

Cyprus are playing Tunisia. 36 matches in a row Baghdatis had

one. Well done to his opponent. We have talked a lot about this

competition at this level, the world group, the elite level. Worth

reminding that the Davis Cup happens on these weekends in pretty much

every nation of the world. Certainly on every continent. A

truly global sport, tennis. The Davis Cup goes down many internal

divisions. Always great to look at some of the pictures of some of the

great matches around the world, some of the remote locations. It is

matches such as this, Great Britain against France, which bring in the

television revenue, bring in the sponsorship, which helps to fund the

competition in all those removed outposts, which helps to grow the

game of tennis. That is often the scene side of the Davis Cup. -- the

unseen side. Well played! Still in there fighting.

That was just long. No doubt from the umpire, confirming the call of

the line judge. Evans is keeping it to a single rake in this set. The

way it was going, is really could have rapidly ran away from him. It

could have been an absolute nightmare for Dan Evans. He is

making the second set competitive. It came at an unfortunate time. We

felt Evans was finding his feet and is getting more comfortable. Really,

the break of serve went in a flash, didn't it? Out of nowhere.

Chardy is getting so much working spin on his forehand, especially

when he pulls it into the Evans forehand. Such a high bounce.

I am in pain just watching the service action of Chardy when he

chucks the ball out wide. It is fantastic.

The racket has gone from Evans at the end of set two foot up so much

frustration. Look how deep he is on the return and it allows Chardy the

extra angle. His skill with the forehand. Jeremy Chardy a couple of

weeks ago was no end near the French team. He has been drafted in and has

rewarded captain Yannick Noah with a fine performance. France, having won

the first rubber as well have won five set out of five today. They are

firmly in charge of this Davis Cup recount. -- weekend.

It will make captain Noah incredibly happy. 20 ties as captain. He's won

15, lost only five. What a record that is. It's his third spell as

captain. He first took the job in 1991. France won it in 91 with Forge

and Le Comte. Beating the US team of Pete Sampras. And in 1991 they won

in Malmo. Really exciting fun that year.

They haven't won the Davis Cup since 2001. Which is quite a long wait in

16 years. So Noah would love nothing more than leading his team to

another success. Getting a Triple Crown of victories.

There is the French President. One eye to the big screen, sir. Yeah,

make sure you're on camera. Go on, give us another one. Leading the

way, leading the home support. Well he doesn't have any problem

getting people playing the game in this country. That's why they have

so many coming through the ranks. 11 players in the top 100.

One thing he could do is just chivvy them along a little on Roland

Garros. We have heard about the development stages over 15 years, I

reckon. The US have beaten them to it! But not much happens here very

quickly. Especially when it comes to sporting

facilities. There's a gentle a pace of life to

Roland Garros. And very beneficial for it in many respects. Well, here

we are in Normandy and Evans is serving to stay in the match.

And it's hello again to John Lloyd. Not much going right for Britain

this afternoon, John. No.

It seems the French player has so much time on this court against Dan

Evans. His strokes are not coming through the court enough. It's too

slow for him. And with that mishit which actually

lands next to Leon Smith on the bench. And here's the break down in

the third set having lost the first two sets. Here is a guy, 44th in the

world who has come from absolute tennis oblivion to reach the top 50.

And these are good times for British tennis. Three men inside the top

506789 Michael Downe, there he is, he is departing to head back to his

native Canada after Wimbledon but he has presided over a period of

relative success. It must be said. Three in the top 50. Jo Konta doing

incredible things including the incredible Vic in Miami. Undoubtedly

the best success for British women since Virginia wade in 1967.

I know that there will be some people in British tennis, not

entirably in favour of what Michael Downie's been doing

for British tennis. But we do wish hill well for his time back in

Canada. Oh, well played! It's just a mixture

of mostly... Well, you see flashes of brilliance from Dan Evans, odd

points here and there but he just can't do it enough against a the

Frenchman who seems so much in control.

And you see Dan Evans playing to impose himself. To play the match

like it's another surface, the problem is your opponent has to

allow you to do that, that is what Chardy hasn't done. The serve's been

heavy, the forehand high and deep. Yeah, the high bounce, John, it's

something we were talking about earlier with Jamie Baker. That's