"Arthur Fils was very close to winning": Mathieu reflects on France's loss in Davis cup

Captain of the team France, Paul-Henri Mathieu, has expressed his disappointing after they lost to Spain and miss out on a place in the last-eight of the team-based competition. The team-based competition is moving towards the business end and the remaining teams are battling to stay alive and go all the way.

France had a tough outing against tournament favourites Spain as they lost in the round of 16 with a score of 2-1. In the singles category, the French lost both matches. World number three Carlos Alcaraz defeated Ugo Humbert in straight sets with a score of 6-3, 6-3. Roberto Bautista Agut then defeated France’s Arthur Fils with a score of 2-6, 7-5, 6-3.

In the doubles category event, French pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Edouard Roger-Vasselin defeated the pair of Pablo Carreno Busta and Marcel Granollers with a score of 7-6, 6-7, 10-8. French team captain Mathieu was recently quoted in a report where he expressed disappointment after the side failed to qualify for the next round. The 42-year-old also lamented a lost opportunity when Fils started brightly in his singles encounter against Bautista Agut but failed to capitalise on the momentum.

"Arthur Fils was very close to winning against Bautista Agut,” he said as quoted by French media publication L’Equipe. “Something normal happened: he tensed up, as can happen to anyone. He played two sets at a very high level. He wanted to do better after his good match on the first day against Australia and he came very close to playing the perfect match. The first matches in the Davis Cup are always hard to win, especially against a player with so much experience. He played more intelligently in those moments. The Davis Cup is special for the players. They love the jersey. If they feel this tension and so much disappointment after the matches, it's because they want to do well. It's nice to see and it's hard when there's a defeat at stake.”