France lead 2-0 against Ecuador after Mannarino’s victory over Roberto Quiroz (6-4, 4-6, 6-1).
Recent 8e of finalist at the Australian Open, the 33-year-old Frenchman suffered a little against a player who had never done better than a 172e place in the ATP rankings in 2019 and who, at 30, has never participated in a Grand Slam final draw. But the current 381e world had taken a set from Andrey Rublev during the last final phase. And the magic of the Davis Cup almost operated once again. Broken from the start, the Val d’Oisien immediately picked up. During a first round of good quality and very balanced, the French leader snatched the opposing service in the tenth game to win the first act 6-4. Without complex the Ecuadorian left-hander nevertheless continued to upset the tricolor left-hander in the second act.
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Mannarino thus erased three break points in the fifth game. But he yielded in the ninth game of the second act and did not convert two break points in the tenth game won by the Ecuadorian (6-4). ” I had already played and beaten him in three sets. I didn’t expect an easy match, ensures the number 1 of the team. We are indoors. He is a player who serves very well in first serves. He was consistently serving above 200 km/h in the second run. It’s not easy when you can’t find the timing on the way back. He tried his luck a lot from the middle of the 2e set and he was able to seize his rare opportunities.»
The 58e world did not panic and the outsider Quiroz foiled, accumulating unforced errors in the last act. “ I came to my senses at the end of the second set and at the start of the third and I made the difference, confirms the Val d’Oisien. I returned well in the third set. He concedes an entry break. Plus the public pushing. It was a lot all at once. All the better for us. This is also the advantage of playing at home.Mannarino took the opportunity to take off with a double break and play five consecutive games. France leads logically 2-0 after the first two singles. “The goal is reached. We did not thwart. It could have been easier but I think we did a good job.It’s up to the Mahut-Herbert pair to finish the job this Saturday.
