Lille is the venue for the Davis Cup finals in 2017 between France and Belgium (24. till 26. November live on DAZN). While the hosts are fighting for their tenth triumph, the Belgians want to secure victory for the first time in their third final after 1904 and 2015. After Argentina’s historic success last year, who will take the victory this year? SPOX provides you with all important information about the last big showdown of the tennis year.
The Davis Cup is the oldest team competition in professional sports, which is held annually worldwide. Both France and Belgium will go into the final with the same team they had already relied on in their semi-finals. France leads 4-3 in a direct duel.
The final game for the ugliest “salad bowl of the world” will take place from 24. until 26. The meeting will take place in Lille on November 11. The Stade Pierre Mauroy is the scene of the first duel of both teams since 2001 in Ghent. Because the Davis Cup is always changing the right to a home against the opponent, this time it is played in France. It is also up to the home team to choose the flooring freely. Captain Yannick Noah and his team decided to play the game in the arena at Hartplatz.
The French Davis Cup captain is taking a certain risk with his nomination. With Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut he called in two absolute double specialists. If a single player is injured, Mahut would have to step in, he is clearly the more experienced man in the singles. However, Richard Gasquet and Julien Benneteau also travel to Lille as reserve players, at least as sparring partners. If a player gets injured before the final, one of the two could even get a bet. However, a subsequent nomination after the beginning would no longer be possible.
The Belgian team will be led by ATP finalist David Goffin. The eighth in the world rankings is supported by the experienced Steve Darcis, who should be seated next to Goffin for the singles. The doubles could be Ruben Bemelmans and Arthur De Greef. Joris De Loore also returns from an injury break and will be a sparring partner for the Belgians in the training sessions before the duel.
On Friday, two individual games open the weekend. On the second day, only one match in doubles will be played, while on Sunday, two singles will be played again (if necessary). The matches are all decided in best-of-five mode. The team that won three matches first may call itself Davis Cup Champion.
Steve Darcis:”It’s the final we all dreamed of. For us it is outstanding that we are back in the final. Hopefully we can get it home this time.”
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga:”The adrenaline levels are definitely higher. That’s what we’re playing for. All good players have won the Davis Cup before.”
DAZN will broadcast all five matches of the Davis Cup Final live stream.
DAZN is an online sports streaming channel that broadcasts other ATP and WTA Tour tournaments in addition to the Davis Cup duels. In addition, DAZN also has European football leagues such as the Primera Division, Premier League and Serie A in its programme. Here is an overview of the entire programme! DAZN is free of charge in the first month, after that a subscription costs only 9.99 Euro.
The German Davis Cup team led by captain Michael Kohlmann had to admit defeat in the first round of the World Group Finalist Belgium this season. The duel at the Fraport Arena in Frankfurt was lost 1-4 at the beginning of February, Alexander Zverev won the only point for the Germans in the second singles match against Arthur de Greef.
In the relegation match against Portugal, however, Germany was able to win the match a little surprisingly, although Zverev, his brother Mischa and Philipp Kohlschreiber were not available. Cedric-Marcel Stebe and Jan-Lennard Struff defeated the Portuguese number one Joao Sousa, while Struff and Tim Pütz also won the doubles. This means that Germany will continue to be in the world group in the coming season. In the first round you get to do it with Australia.
Friday (two singles)
Saturday (double)
Sunday (two singles)