Belgium produced a remarkable comeback from 1-2 down to beat Australia 3-2 in last weekend’s Davis Cup semifinal in Brussels thanks to wins by David Goffin and Steve Darcis in the final two singles matches on Sunday.
First Goffin came back from one set down to beat Nick Kyrgios 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-4 6-4 after three hours and nine minutes to keep Belgian hopes alive. Then Steve Darcis lived up to his reputation as Davis Cup Man by beating Jordan Thompson 6-4 7-5 6-2 in the decisive fifth rubber match.
“We play tennis for this kind of matches. It’s a great win for the team. These are magic moments. We are a very close team and being able to win in front of such great crowd is special. Maybe I was more relaxed than my opponent heading into the court because I understood the situation”, said Darcis.
Belgium will contest their second Davis Cup final in the last three years, when they meet France next November.
“It’s the final we all dream about. We were speaking with the French players about this a few weeks ago and we said it would be so good if we could play against you guys. It’s going to be amazing for us to be again in the Final. Hopefully this time we can take it home. It would not make me happy to lose the second final in the last three years. ”, continued Darcis.
Darcis praised his teammate Goffin, who recorded his 15th singles win in his last 16 matches for the Belgian Davis Cup team. Goffin beat John Millman on Friday and Nick Kyrgios on Sunday in four sets.
“It was a career defining for David. I think the way he played was unbelievable”.said Darcis.
Goffin produced an excellent serve on his match aganst Kyrgios.
“It was really a battle on serve in the first two sets. The service was the key today. This was probably the best match I have ever played in Davis Cup. I hit so many aces. I had high first serve percentage and I finished in the last game with two or three aces. It was probably my best ever Davis Cup match. I am very happy for winning this match. I was confident because I was stronger than him during rallies from the second set and serving this way it is difficult to get broken. ”, said Goffin.
Belgium will face a strong French team, who will be bidding to win their first Davis Cup title since 2001. Jp Wilfried Tsonga beat Dusan Lajovic in Sunday’s first reverse singles match to help France reach its 18th Davis Cup in history at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Villenueve D’Asq near Lille in front of 18000 spectators in the venue where France lost to Switzerland in the 2014 Davis Cup final. Next November’s final will be the third for Yannick Noah as captain of the French Davis Cup team, but the first since 1996. Noah led France to Davis Cup triumphs over the USA in 1991 and Sweden in 1996.
“All of us want to bring the title in the country again. In 2014 I wasn’t able to play all the matches of the weekend. I will give my best to prepare well”, said Tsonga.
