and moves ….. closer to qualifying for the semi-finals
Corentin Moutet and Raphaël Collignon had the honor of opening the Davis Cup Final 8 in Bologna as part of the first match counting for the quarter-final between France and Belgium. This match lived up to all its promises.
France has ambitions. Having qualified for the Davis Cup finals after successes against Brazil and Croatia, Paul-Henri Mathieu's team were the favorites in their quarter-final against Belgium this Tuesday.
Moutet and Collignon had been chosen to participate in the first singles match from 4 p.m. This was the first encounter between the two men on the main tour.
The first set was one-sided, or almost so. Undoubtedly tense due to the occasion, Collignon did not start very well, committing double faults and perfectly launching his opponent.
The Frenchman, for his part, started with a double break and logically won the first set in 40 minutes. However, the start of the second set set the tone for what was to follow. The Belgian broke Moutet straight away, and even though the latter quickly caught up, the real battle began in the second set.
Much more solid on his serves, Collignon, the world No. 86, led the way, even saving a break point at 5-5 that could have been fatal for him. But, in the following game, the 23-year-old player took advantage of a momentary lapse from Moutet, who played a very poor game, notably at 15-15 where he decided to attempt a tweener despite the court being open, which he ultimately missed. It was therefore in the third set that the two men were separated.
One of the first key moments of the decisive set occurred at 2-1 in Collignon's favor, when Moutet had to work hard to win his service game, saving three break points to level the score. The two men, solid on their serves, kept the suspense going until the final games.
The 26-year-old player once again saved a break point at 4-3 for the Belgian, before catching up, once again, to his opponent's level. Collignon grew stronger in this match and was not troubled on his serves in the third set, delivering four love holds.
Finally, after all the suspense, it was the Belgian who came out on top. Just when Moutet was in a position to force a decisive tie-break, he cracked at the worst possible moment, double-faulting on his opponent's first match point.
In the end, Collignon wins in three sets (2-6, 7-5, 7-5 in 2h32) and moves Belgium closer to qualifying for the semi-finals. The Belgians will officially qualify for the final four if Zizou Bergs defeats Arthur Rinderknech in the second singles match.
