Monfils and Simon Give France the Edge

It appears as though Guadeloupe is quickly becoming a good luck backdrop for France’s Davis Cup efforts as they open with a 2-0 lead over Canada in the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas first round tie on Friday.
Playing his own classic brand of showman tennis,Gael Monfils gave France a 1-0 edge over Canada in the first rubber.  The world No. 17 ranked Monfils barely broke a sweat in bypassing Frank Dancevic 63 61 63 in a quick 1 hour 25 minute fashion.
In the second rubber, Gilles Simon appeared to be in serious trouble as Vasek Pospisil raced to a commanding 5-0 lead in the first set. But Simon was undeterred and went on to win the next nine games for a 75 2-0 lead.
The Frenchman remained in charge and closed out the second rubber 75 63 63, ending the match on a winning forehand into an open court.
Once Pospisil lost his advantage he seemed rushed, taking too many risks against the steadier style of Simon. Pospisil posted 50 unforced errors as he went for make it or break it shotmaking.
The near capacity crowd was enthusiastic in supporting of both players, but most especially for Monfils, who in particular they consider one of their own. Half of his family lives in Guadeloupe, including his dad, and he spent his early years growing up on the island.
“I played very solid tennis,” Monfils said. “I had a very simple game plan. The crowd was very good from the start when they played the Marseillaise. They helped me a lot.”
Dancevic could never make any inroads into the match as Monfils played superlative tennis. He never offered Dancevic a break point opportunity and broke the Canadian’s serve six times.
While Monfils’ flamboyant style can often account for mistakes, he was performed solidly with only 17 unforced errors, leaving Dancevic to make the mistakes with 37 errors.
Monfils was particularly impressive in the way he dominated, showing artful shot selection and great court coverage. World No. 245 Dancevic knew going into the match that he was tasked with a tall order in trying to bring down a Top 20 player.
“I had one game plan the whole match to go for my shots,” Dancevic said. “I felt like he played extremely well and was there for everything. I feel like he did both things well today, offense and defense. I felt like I was one step behind the whole match.”

Source: Davis Cup Website