Paul-Henri Mathieu on the incident between Fils and Seyboth Wild: "That's what Davis Cup atmosphere is all about".
This Saturday, France got off to an excellent start in the first round of the Davis Cup play-offs against Brazil in Orléans.
After Ugo Humbert's victory over João Fonseca (7-5, 6-3), it was Arthur Fils who gave Les Bleus their second point following a win over Thiago Seyboth Wild (6-1, 6-4).
The end of the match, however, was tense and marked by refereeing errors and a virulent handshake between the two players.
France's captain, Paul-Henri Mathieu, reflected on the tension at the end of the first day of competition.
"It was a strange match. In the first set, Arthur played very well, he was almost the only man on court. His opponent made a lot of mistakes, and there was no rhythm.
And things got a bit tense in the 2nd set. I just told him to keep calm, insisting that opportunities to make a difference would present themselves. and they did. He got himself going again.
In the end, I had to calm things down, it's true. That's part of the Davis Cup atmosphere. There can be moments of tension.
There was a game against Brazil, that's for sure. My role is not to have a bruised face. It was a bit of a tense moment.
I had to call my player back and calm everyone down. That's part of the job," he assured the French Tennis Federation.
