"I have no doubt that he will fit into the team," Mathieu justifies his choice to select Moutet for the Davis Cup
France will play its Davis Cup match in Croatia on Friday and Saturday on the clay courts of Osijek. The stakes are simple for the French team, who must win to compete in the Final 8 of this 2025 edition in Bologna in November.
Before this confrontation, which will be a rematch of the 2018 final, captain Paul-Henri Mathieu was forced to change his plans in recent days. Due to a back injury, Ugo Humbert withdrew, which compelled the former professional player to call up Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Corentin Moutet. The latter is thus called up for the first time, and Mathieu justified his choice in recent hours.
"Corentin (Moutet) has shown certain guarantees over the past few months. He is ranked 39th in the world; you don't get there by chance. We've had quite a few discussions together. I have no doubt that he will adapt to the team.
He was the first to pick up the racket again last week. Things are going very well. He was used to playing for the French team when he was young. He knows how things work in a group. I emphasize that having this collective mindset is important.
There are rules and a framework to follow. And everyone adheres to them. They are happy to come together for a week where they operate differently than the rest of the year. And representing France always brings pride," assured the captain, who also provided an update on the doubles situation.
"I decided for the first round against Brazil to field Pierre-Hugues (Herbert) and Benjamin (Bonzi). I was rather satisfied with my choice. It was risky because they had never played together.
Choices have to be made; I think in the short term but also in the medium term, to see the possibilities we have to build a team. Today, it's no secret, there is no doubles team that truly stands out.
It's not like we have world No. 1 or 2 players or Grand Slam winners. We have to see what team we can put together. We have to think about the future," assured the French captain for L'Équipe.
