Dan Evans, Cameron Norrie lead Britain to victory over France in Davis Cup opener

ByEurosport

Updated 27/11/2021 at 14:55 GMT

Great Britain's Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie beat France's Adrian Mannarino 7-5 6-4 and Arthur Rinderknech 2-6 6-7 (8-10) in the Davis Cup in Austria. Cameron Norrie said: "It was a tough game early on and I found a lot of confidence - he went through a little patch where he missed a lot and I took advantage of that."

Great Britain beat France in their first tie of the Davis Cup in Innsbruck, Austria.

Dan Evans got GB off to a perfect start by beating Adrian Mannarino 7-5 6-4, before Cameron Norrie downed France's Arthur Rinderknech 2-6 6-7(8) to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Norrie found his rhythm four games in, securing three break points, while Rinderkneck made a double fault to fall behind. Norrie kept the momentum to win the set, with Rinderkneck clinging on to force a tie-break in the second.

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But the world No. 12, with pressure weighing on him to GB to complete the sweep, fought through the breaker to complete the singles sweep for GB.

Norrie told Eurosport: "It was a difficult match especially with a lot on the line. He came up with some great volleys in the tie-break.

"The team behind me were great especially with no fans here, it wasn't easy. It was a tough game early on and I found a lot of confidence - he went through a little patch where he missed a lot and I took advantage of that.

"All credit to the guy to make it to the tie-break and I was fortunate to sneak through there."

Highlights: Evans downs Mannarino to give GB lead

Evans, the British No. 2, had a strong start with him before Mannarino broke back to level at 5-5 in the first set. But Evans broke clear immediately and sailed to take it 7-5.

Mannarino was visibly frustrated in the second set, with the Frenchman eventually defeated with a big forehand mistake leading to Evans to make the decisive break.

Evans told Eurosport: "It's not easy to come out play first. I thought about the match all week and it's difficult to come out and get your game on the court.

"It's great to play for my country and get a point on the board. There's only a few better number ones in the world and I wanted to set it up for Cam. All the pressure is on the other guy to get it to one-all and that was my job."

Evans ends epic rally with stunning one-handed winner against Mannarino

Andy Murray, who led the team to victory in 2015, ruled himself out of the squad earlier this week citing the need for rest.

GB went as far as the semi-finals in 2019, with the 2020 tournament cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.

France beat Czech Republic 2-1 on the opening day, and GB will take on Czech Republic on Sunday.

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