:00:08. > :00:14.SUE BARKER: At this point, we welcome viewers on BBC Two as
:00:15. > :00:18.coverage ends surely on BBC One. If you are joining us, it is the Davis
:00:19. > :00:23.Cup quarterfinal between Britain and France in Rouen. France lead 2-0.
:00:24. > :00:30.Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot need to win to keep the tie alive. France
:00:31. > :00:35.are leading 2-1, and this is the fourth set, France with a second
:00:36. > :00:39.match point. Tense times in Rouen. We say goodbye to view would surely
:00:40. > :00:49.on BBC One, and coverage with interviews will continue on two.
:00:50. > :01:18.COMMENTATOR: Oh! It is into the net and it is all over!
:01:19. > :01:29.A fabulous doubles match ends in victory for Julien Benneteau and
:01:30. > :01:37.Nicolas Mahut. And they take their place in the semifinals of the Davis
:01:38. > :01:41.Cup once more. 16 years since France last won this World Cup of tennis.
:01:42. > :01:47.Perhaps this is the year when Yannick Noah wins it for a third
:01:48. > :01:51.time as captain. Great scenes around the arena in Rouen. There is Yannick
:01:52. > :01:57.Noah with the new president of the French tennis Association. And on
:01:58. > :02:02.the clay in Normandy, Mahut with his family watching, and now joining in
:02:03. > :02:06.the celebrations, it's a wonderful moment for them. For Great Britain,
:02:07. > :02:11.well, they came here as underdogs, they entered the doubles tie as
:02:12. > :02:20.underdogs, they gave it a real good go today. A fabulously entertaining
:02:21. > :02:24.four set doubles match. But sometimes you just have two hand it
:02:25. > :02:32.to the pony and, Mahut and Benneteau on the day were just too good.
:02:33. > :02:35.Winning the first set on a tie-break, recovering from losing
:02:36. > :02:40.the second set to win the third, 7-5, and get it on the single break
:02:41. > :02:59.of serve right at the end of the fourth set to win 7-5.
:03:00. > :03:07.Lucas Pouille, Jeremy Chardy, Julien Benneteau, Nicolas Mahut, pretty
:03:08. > :03:12.much the French B team have played here this weekend, but it is the
:03:13. > :03:16.strength in depth that emphasises what an impressive tennis nation
:03:17. > :03:22.this is, and they are into the final four. And who knows, perhaps it will
:03:23. > :03:25.be their year in the Davis Cup. SUE BARKER:.
:03:26. > :03:33.An impressive beating. It would be an impressive C team, but they
:03:34. > :03:38.deserved the victory. John Lloyd has joined me. We say well done to
:03:39. > :03:43.France, but Dominic Inglot and Jamie Murray did so well. They had their
:03:44. > :03:47.chances. It was a fantastic doubles match.
:03:48. > :03:52.The French team with the big points, but it was a great doubles match. I
:03:53. > :03:57.loved every second of it. The British team should be proud of
:03:58. > :04:00.their efforts. A couple of points here and there, but the French team
:04:01. > :04:05.was absolutely magnificent today. You have to say well done. A great
:04:06. > :04:10.atmosphere. The French team have lifted their game. Those matches,
:04:11. > :04:14.Kyle Edmund had chances yesterday in the second set tie-break. The
:04:15. > :04:19.British team today had chances to win sets, the French came back and
:04:20. > :04:23.took their chances. The French played the best, simple as that. It
:04:24. > :04:27.was a couple of points here and there. When it mattered, they had
:04:28. > :04:32.the confidence in themselves, on the clay courts they were assured. Every
:04:33. > :04:37.time a vital point came along, you felt they would make it somehow. You
:04:38. > :04:42.have to give them credit for it. Looking at the team, the captain
:04:43. > :04:46.Yannick Noah taking the plaudits all around the stadium. He is a
:04:47. > :04:49.charismatic captain, and he has played his part. He geed up his team
:04:50. > :04:54.and got them in the right frame of mind. I have never seen a captain as
:04:55. > :04:58.animated at the changeovers. Every captain has a different style, but
:04:59. > :05:02.he gets in their face, and you can see how involved he is and how much
:05:03. > :05:11.he wants to win. At the end of the match, when he went up to the
:05:12. > :05:15.president of the ITF, I think he wants the format display the same.
:05:16. > :05:20.He likes the fans and he likes the venue! It has proved very popular.
:05:21. > :05:26.When you look at the French team, quite a few are over 30, Lucas
:05:27. > :05:30.Pouille is a rising star in the game, just 23 years of age. A
:05:31. > :05:36.wonderful future as we see the match point. You have to say, Nicolas
:05:37. > :05:44.Mahut did well to keep his partner, Julien Benneteau, who got no this at
:05:45. > :05:48.the end of the first set, in the right frame of mind. -- who lost his
:05:49. > :06:02.nerve will. You could see the feuding confidence
:06:03. > :06:07.whenever they needed it. You have do have a leader and he was definitely
:06:08. > :06:12.the leader today. One of the best doubles teams you could ever see on
:06:13. > :06:16.a court, so no disrespect to Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot, who
:06:17. > :06:21.played well, especially Jamie Murray. He was superb throughout
:06:22. > :06:24.today. He hardly missed a volley drop the match. Dominic Inglot
:06:25. > :06:30.played well throughout the match. There were a couple of chances that
:06:31. > :06:33.they didn't capitalise on. Dominic Inglot is a world-class doubles
:06:34. > :06:39.player. Jamie Murray, for me was superb. There were set points in the
:06:40. > :06:44.first set, those are the chances you can't afford to let slip,
:06:45. > :06:52.particularly in this format. Not against a world-class team like
:06:53. > :06:59.their opponents. Inglot should have scored, it was a big point. We saw
:07:00. > :07:04.Dominic Inglot, he will think of some of the missed opportunities,
:07:05. > :07:08.won't he? He is a really good pro. He loves the Davis Cup. He is so
:07:09. > :07:14.passionate about it. That was the shot that he would have made
:07:15. > :07:19.normally. Set point, C. Top of the net, it preyed on his mind a bit. He
:07:20. > :07:22.got back in the second and played fabulously. Jamie Murray was solid
:07:23. > :07:26.throughout. You can't give away points like that. He will have
:07:27. > :07:31.nightmares about that. It was like he had too much time to think about
:07:32. > :07:35.it. If it was a reflex shot, he would have made it. Inglot is better
:07:36. > :07:41.when he doesn't have time, he is a really good attacker. When he has
:07:42. > :07:44.time, you can see on his mind, "I can't miss this". Hitting the top of
:07:45. > :07:52.the net. It is one he should have made. Losing the first set
:07:53. > :07:57.tie-break, that set the tone. We can see now how they finished it off,
:07:58. > :08:01.France. They raised the level of play, and missed errors like that
:08:02. > :08:06.were costly. Really slashing at the ball and flicking the ball into the
:08:07. > :08:10.net. You felt sorry for him. He got back and started playing better. But
:08:11. > :08:13.a couple of points here and there. They should have done better with
:08:14. > :08:21.the volley, getting caught on the next one. It put them in trouble in
:08:22. > :08:25.that set. And that sets the tone in that match. But they got themselves
:08:26. > :08:30.back into it and did well to lift their game in the second. They did.
:08:31. > :08:35.They came back. For me, Jamie Murray was the best player on the court. He
:08:36. > :08:38.was dominating, never missing a volley in the whole match. These
:08:39. > :08:43.types of bullies, depth and everything else. That is the one
:08:44. > :08:49.Dominic Inglot missed. We have seen that one before! Jamie, I thought,
:08:50. > :08:55.was fantastic. His reflexes were superb in the match. I thought he
:08:56. > :08:58.captained the team well in terms of encouragement, and Leon tried to get
:08:59. > :09:04.things going and get them pumped up. They played a world-class team today
:09:05. > :09:09.and could have won the match. 4-2 up as well, losing that set, five lost
:09:10. > :09:16.out of the next six games, it plays on the mind. It shows how wonderful
:09:17. > :09:21.the sport is. One or two points can change a match. You have to credit
:09:22. > :09:25.the French, they were down a break, breaking back and playing a superb
:09:26. > :09:29.game. They were in trouble but they raised their game. Every time they
:09:30. > :09:34.were in trouble, you felt they had the extra bit of class today,
:09:35. > :09:39.particularly Mahut. In the second half, his return of serve is were
:09:40. > :09:43.world-class. He never looked like losing his serve. He was the
:09:44. > :09:47.confident player on the court, for me. Jamie Murray was a close second.
:09:48. > :09:53.We hope to hear from the players, in fact, I believe we can. We can hand
:09:54. > :09:57.over live to Jamie. Congratulations, can you tell us
:09:58. > :10:02.what the key was in what was an incredible doubles match? The key
:10:03. > :10:08.was to stay mentally, physically, together when it was hard and
:10:09. > :10:11.difficult. Dominic and Jamie did well today. We didn't have a lot of
:10:12. > :10:18.opportunities to break them. We waited for it. We were a break down
:10:19. > :10:26.in the third set, but we still believed in the victory and the
:10:27. > :10:30.comeback. The way we found the key to return well. We had some
:10:31. > :10:34.opportunities to break, and it was a different game. But once again,
:10:35. > :10:42.doubles in Davis Cup, even on clay, it is very close. We could have lost
:10:43. > :10:45.the first set. France is such a strong tennis
:10:46. > :10:49.nation, can you describe to us what it means to the public and for you
:10:50. > :10:55.guys to be in the semifinals of the Davis Cup? We are a great nation but
:10:56. > :11:04.we didn't win the competition since 2001. There is expectation around
:11:05. > :11:12.the Thiem. We are a great, great, great group. We didn't play with
:11:13. > :11:17.Richard, didn't play with Gael, and it was the first time for me to play
:11:18. > :11:23.at home, and we play the semifinal at home, a great tie. We wish to
:11:24. > :11:26.play the final and bring back the trophy to France.
:11:27. > :11:30.Finally, can you give us a word about the Captain Jenneker Noah, he
:11:31. > :11:36.looks animated on the court, what is it like to play for in? It is
:11:37. > :11:44.something special. He lives the match, harder and deeper than us. He
:11:45. > :11:51.shows his emotions. When we were with him on the bench, he was very
:11:52. > :11:55.calm. He gave us some tips, tactics. Luckily, we make it at the end. Well
:11:56. > :12:00.done, guys. Good luck in the semifinal.
:12:01. > :12:08.SUE BARKER:, two matches will be played tomorrow. You can see them on
:12:09. > :12:11.the website. You can hear them with commentary. Other sport to look
:12:12. > :12:18.forward to on the BBC, more tennis. The Fed cup, and offer Vong leads
:12:19. > :12:25.the team against Romania. That is on Saturday on the website. The Masters
:12:26. > :12:32.is live on the red button, and continues on BBC Two at 7:30 this
:12:33. > :12:34.evening. The triathlon series, you can see highlights on BBC Two at
:12:35. > :12:44.10:40 five. Hopefully more interviews on the
:12:45. > :12:47.website. Briefly before we go for Britain, how disappointed will Leon
:12:48. > :12:53.and the team be? Very disappointed because they love the Davis Cup. We
:12:54. > :12:56.were without Andy Murray. Put him into the equation, chances are we
:12:57. > :13:00.win two singles and a chance of winning the match. I thought both
:13:01. > :13:05.single player 's, Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans, they played well at
:13:06. > :13:09.times, but there is a long way to go on clay, particularly for Dan Evans.
:13:10. > :13:14.They came up against a team that was better. The bottom line is now, we
:13:15. > :13:18.are a World Group team now without Andy, but against the top teams
:13:19. > :13:23.without Andy, we will struggle. The good news is that by beating Canada,
:13:24. > :13:29.as we did in February, we remained in the world group. It is great for
:13:30. > :13:34.British tennis. As long as Kyle and Dan keep improving and Andy comes to
:13:35. > :13:37.the matches, we have a world-class doubles team, we can win the
:13:38. > :13:41.competition again next year. Thank you, John. More reaction from the
:13:42. > :13:45.French cap in Yannick Noah, and hopefully the British captain as
:13:46. > :13:48.well, reflecting on what has happened today. You can see them on
:13:49. > :13:55.the website. France have won, and they haven't won it since 2001. It
:13:56. > :13:59.is a country with a great sporting pedigree. They love their tennis.
:14:00. > :14:06.Maybe this will be their year. From all of us here, goodbye.
:14:07. > :14:17.A difficult match from a Great Britain point of view. What a
:14:18. > :14:22.return! Oh, yes. Glorious from Inglot. Benneteau has turned it
:14:23. > :14:28.around. He has turned it on in the tie-break. Yes! Inglot's moment! The
:14:29. > :14:35.first set a weekend four Smith's men. There it is! The skills on
:14:36. > :14:43.display from a British point of view in that game. Oh! Come of it! The
:14:44. > :14:48.French know they have done a big, big job in that set. A fabulous
:14:49. > :14:51.doubles match ends in victory the Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut.