20 ITFWORLD WINTER 2017
La Dixième
L
ucas Pouille was just seven years
old — and still months away from
picking up a tennis racket for the
first time — when fifth-rubber hero
Nicolas Escude clinched France's ninth
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas title on
a floodlit grass court at Melbourne Park
in 2001.
Sixteen long years later, and in
spite of the accumulated burden of
numerous near-misses for his peers in the
international team competition, Pouille
took centre stage in front of 26,013 fans
France ended a 16-year wait to be
crowned Davis Cup by BNP Paribas
champions for the tenth time,
defeating Belgium in the final for a
true team triumph, says Jamie Renton.
DAVIS
CUP
BY
BNP
PARIBAS
Lucas Pouille cruised to victory
in the decisive fifth rubber
French fans were rooting
for title No. 10
World No. 7 David Goffin
had two straight-sets wins
