The French team qualifies for the Davis Cup finals

For his first Davis Cup selection, Corentin Moutet lived up to expectations. The 26-year-old left-hander helped the French team secure its ticket to the "Final 8" of the competition by defeating Marin Cilic in two sets (7-5, 6-4), allowing the French tennis team to secure a decisive point in their confrontation against the Croatian team (3-1) on Saturday, September 13. The day before, Corentin Moutet had already won against Dino Prizmic (6-4, 5-7, 6-1), in Osijek, Croatia.

"I'm really happy to have qualified the team. (...) It's a source of pride to play for the French team and in the Davis Cup," the Frenchman told beIN Sports, a few moments after being showered in celebration by his teammates Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Arthur Rinderknech. The latter had given France a two-point advantage on Friday, after Moutet's first success, thanks to his victory against Marin Cilic (6-2, 6-4).

All that was missing was a victory to qualify, but the doubles team of Benjamin Bonzi and Pierre-Hugues Herbert lost early Saturday afternoon to the Croatian pair Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic (3-6, 7-5). Full of determination and very satisfied with his tennis practiced the day before, Corentin Moutet went for that last point. "There was no way I was going to leave without the victory," he said afterwards.

This success allows the French team to reach the "Final 8" of the Davis Cup for the first time since the competition's format changed in 2019. After their clear victory against Brazil in February (4-0), the Blues will therefore play these final stages of the Davis Cup in Bologna, Italy, from November 18 to 23. France has not won the competition since 2017 and a success against Belgium (3-1), in front of the crowd at the Pierre-Mauroy stadium, in Villeneuve-d'Ascq (Nord).