Sebastien Grosjean pulled France level with Russia in their Davis Cup quarter-final by beating Igor Andreev 7-5 4-6 2-6 6-3 6-4 in the first reverse singles on Sunday. With the score at 2-2, the tie was being decided in the second reverse singles, where Marat Safin was playing Frenchman Paul Henri-Mathieu.
"I had more desire, more motivation to win, I think, and maybe a little bit more experience," Grosjean, ranked 176 places above his younger opponent, told reporters.
In the first set, Andreev sent the ball into the corners but failed several times to nail a point at the end of a long rally. Grosjean won the set but wavered in the second, letting Andreev take four games within 20 minutes.
After another lacklustre set, Grosjean stepped up a level although both players were showing signs of tiredness.
A string of mistakes by Andreev, which caused the Russian to throw his racket to the ground in frustration, helped Grosjean to wrap up the win in three hours and 56 minutes. "I had to make it a big match because Andreev plays very well in this competition," said Grosjean. "I had to attack him, take the ball early." Former US and Australian Open champion Safin was called in by the defending champions to replace Mikhail Youzhny for the final match, after being dropped from the doubles on Saturday because of problems with his foot, according to team mate Nikolay Davydenko.
Grosjean suspected that the move might have been a tactical decision by Russia's captain Shamil Tarpishchev. "I knew he was going to keep Safin for the last match," Grosjean said after the line-up was announced.
The winners of the tie will face Germany in September's semi-finals.
Comments
Comments are closed.