Quarter-Finals - France v Great Britain: Day 2 Davis Cup

SUE BARKER: At this point, we welcome viewers on BBC Two as

coverage ends surely on BBC One. If you are joining us, it is the Davis

Cup quarterfinal between Britain and France in Rouen. France lead 2-0.

Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot need to win to keep the tie alive. France

are leading 2-1, and this is the fourth set, France with a second

match point. Tense times in Rouen. We say goodbye to view would surely

on BBC One, and coverage with interviews will continue on two.

COMMENTATOR: Oh! It is into the net and it is all over!

A fabulous doubles match ends in victory for Julien Benneteau and

Nicolas Mahut. And they take their place in the semifinals of the Davis

Cup once more. 16 years since France last won this World Cup of tennis.

Perhaps this is the year when Yannick Noah wins it for a third

time as captain. Great scenes around the arena in Rouen. There is Yannick

Noah with the new president of the French tennis Association. And on

the clay in Normandy, Mahut with his family watching, and now joining in

the celebrations, it's a wonderful moment for them. For Great Britain,

well, they came here as underdogs, they entered the doubles tie as

underdogs, they gave it a real good go today. A fabulously entertaining

four set doubles match. But sometimes you just have two hand it

to the pony and, Mahut and Benneteau on the day were just too good.

Winning the first set on a tie-break, recovering from losing

the second set to win the third, 7-5, and get it on the single break

of serve right at the end of the fourth set to win 7-5.

Lucas Pouille, Jeremy Chardy, Julien Benneteau, Nicolas Mahut, pretty

much the French B team have played here this weekend, but it is the

strength in depth that emphasises what an impressive tennis nation

this is, and they are into the final four. And who knows, perhaps it will

be their year in the Davis Cup. SUE BARKER:.

An impressive beating. It would be an impressive C team, but they

deserved the victory. John Lloyd has joined me. We say well done to

France, but Dominic Inglot and Jamie Murray did so well. They had their

chances. It was a fantastic doubles match.

The French team with the big points, but it was a great doubles match. I

loved every second of it. The British team should be proud of

their efforts. A couple of points here and there, but the French team

was absolutely magnificent today. You have to say well done. A great

atmosphere. The French team have lifted their game. Those matches,

Kyle Edmund had chances yesterday in the second set tie-break. The

British team today had chances to win sets, the French came back and

took their chances. The French played the best, simple as that. It

was a couple of points here and there. When it mattered, they had

the confidence in themselves, on the clay courts they were assured. Every

time a vital point came along, you felt they would make it somehow. You

have to give them credit for it. Looking at the team, the captain

Yannick Noah taking the plaudits all around the stadium. He is a

charismatic captain, and he has played his part. He geed up his team

and got them in the right frame of mind. I have never seen a captain as

animated at the changeovers. Every captain has a different style, but

he gets in their face, and you can see how involved he is and how much

he wants to win. At the end of the match, when he went up to the

president of the ITF, I think he wants the format display the same.

He likes the fans and he likes the venue! It has proved very popular.

When you look at the French team, quite a few are over 30, Lucas

Pouille is a rising star in the game, just 23 years of age. A

wonderful future as we see the match point. You have to say, Nicolas

Mahut did well to keep his partner, Julien Benneteau, who got no this at

the end of the first set, in the right frame of mind. -- who lost his

nerve will. You could see the feuding confidence

whenever they needed it. You have do have a leader and he was definitely

the leader today. One of the best doubles teams you could ever see on

a court, so no disrespect to Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot, who

played well, especially Jamie Murray. He was superb throughout

today. He hardly missed a volley drop the match. Dominic Inglot

played well throughout the match. There were a couple of chances that

they didn't capitalise on. Dominic Inglot is a world-class doubles

player. Jamie Murray, for me was superb. There were set points in the

first set, those are the chances you can't afford to let slip,

particularly in this format. Not against a world-class team like

their opponents. Inglot should have scored, it was a big point. We saw

Dominic Inglot, he will think of some of the missed opportunities,

won't he? He is a really good pro. He loves the Davis Cup. He is so

passionate about it. That was the shot that he would have made

normally. Set point, C. Top of the net, it preyed on his mind a bit. He

got back in the second and played fabulously. Jamie Murray was solid

throughout. You can't give away points like that. He will have

nightmares about that. It was like he had too much time to think about

it. If it was a reflex shot, he would have made it. Inglot is better

when he doesn't have time, he is a really good attacker. When he has

time, you can see on his mind, "I can't miss this". Hitting the top of

the net. It is one he should have made. Losing the first set

tie-break, that set the tone. We can see now how they finished it off,

France. They raised the level of play, and missed errors like that

were costly. Really slashing at the ball and flicking the ball into the

net. You felt sorry for him. He got back and started playing better. But

a couple of points here and there. They should have done better with

the volley, getting caught on the next one. It put them in trouble in

that set. And that sets the tone in that match. But they got themselves

back into it and did well to lift their game in the second. They did.

They came back. For me, Jamie Murray was the best player on the court. He

was dominating, never missing a volley in the whole match. These

types of bullies, depth and everything else. That is the one

Dominic Inglot missed. We have seen that one before! Jamie, I thought,

was fantastic. His reflexes were superb in the match. I thought he

captained the team well in terms of encouragement, and Leon tried to get

things going and get them pumped up. They played a world-class team today

and could have won the match. 4-2 up as well, losing that set, five lost

out of the next six games, it plays on the mind. It shows how wonderful

the sport is. One or two points can change a match. You have to credit

the French, they were down a break, breaking back and playing a superb

game. They were in trouble but they raised their game. Every time they

were in trouble, you felt they had the extra bit of class today,

particularly Mahut. In the second half, his return of serve is were

world-class. He never looked like losing his serve. He was the

confident player on the court, for me. Jamie Murray was a close second.

We hope to hear from the players, in fact, I believe we can. We can hand

over live to Jamie. Congratulations, can you tell us

what the key was in what was an incredible doubles match? The key

was to stay mentally, physically, together when it was hard and

difficult. Dominic and Jamie did well today. We didn't have a lot of

opportunities to break them. We waited for it. We were a break down

in the third set, but we still believed in the victory and the

comeback. The way we found the key to return well. We had some

opportunities to break, and it was a different game. But once again,

doubles in Davis Cup, even on clay, it is very close. We could have lost

the first set. France is such a strong tennis

nation, can you describe to us what it means to the public and for you

guys to be in the semifinals of the Davis Cup? We are a great nation but

we didn't win the competition since 2001. There is expectation around

the Thiem. We are a great, great, great group. We didn't play with

Richard, didn't play with Gael, and it was the first time for me to play

at home, and we play the semifinal at home, a great tie. We wish to

play the final and bring back the trophy to France.

Finally, can you give us a word about the Captain Jenneker Noah, he

looks animated on the court, what is it like to play for in? It is

something special. He lives the match, harder and deeper than us. He

shows his emotions. When we were with him on the bench, he was very

calm. He gave us some tips, tactics. Luckily, we make it at the end. Well

done, guys. Good luck in the semifinal.

SUE BARKER:, two matches will be played tomorrow. You can see them on

the website. You can hear them with commentary. Other sport to look

forward to on the BBC, more tennis. The Fed cup, and offer Vong leads

the team against Romania. That is on Saturday on the website. The Masters

is live on the red button, and continues on BBC Two at 7:30 this

evening. The triathlon series, you can see highlights on BBC Two at

10:40 five. Hopefully more interviews on the

website. Briefly before we go for Britain, how disappointed will Leon

and the team be? Very disappointed because they love the Davis Cup. We

were without Andy Murray. Put him into the equation, chances are we

win two singles and a chance of winning the match. I thought both

single player 's, Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans, they played well at

times, but there is a long way to go on clay, particularly for Dan Evans.

They came up against a team that was better. The bottom line is now, we

are a World Group team now without Andy, but against the top teams

without Andy, we will struggle. The good news is that by beating Canada,

as we did in February, we remained in the world group. It is great for

British tennis. As long as Kyle and Dan keep improving and Andy comes to

the matches, we have a world-class doubles team, we can win the

competition again next year. Thank you, John. More reaction from the

French cap in Yannick Noah, and hopefully the British captain as

well, reflecting on what has happened today. You can see them on

the website. France have won, and they haven't won it since 2001. It

is a country with a great sporting pedigree. They love their tennis.

Maybe this will be their year. From all of us here, goodbye.

A difficult match from a Great Britain point of view. What a

return! Oh, yes. Glorious from Inglot. Benneteau has turned it

around. He has turned it on in the tie-break. Yes! Inglot's moment! The

first set a weekend four Smith's men. There it is! The skills on

display from a British point of view in that game. Oh! Come of it! The

French know they have done a big, big job in that set. A fabulous

doubles match ends in victory the Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut.