Thursday, February 8, 2001
Forget opts for form and youth against Belgium
Reuters
BRUSSELS, Belgium -- French Davis Cup captain Guy
Forget on Thursday put his faith in two players who took last
month's Australian Open by storm, selecting Arnaud Clement and
Sebastien Grosjean for the opening singles in Friday's world
group first round clash with Belgium in Ghent.
Clement, who lost to Andre Agassi in the Australian final,
will play Friday's opening rubber against the home side's
Christophe Rochus.
Rochus's younger brother Olivier will then take on Grosjean,
beaten by Clement in the semifinals in Melbourne.
Christophe Rochus teams up with Tom Van Houdt, Belgium's top
ranked doubles player, for Saturday's pairing against France's
veteran Cedric Pioline and Fabrice Santoro, before Sunday's
reverse singles.
Basing his selection on youth and current form -- Clement is
23, Grosjean 22 -- Forget has signaled a new chapter in the
national team.
"We have a new team, stronger than last year's," he said. "I
think now is a good time to change things around. It's exciting
and good for the future."
An enthusiastic Clement said: "It's brilliant, but I'm a
little wary as this is all new to me.
"It's been on my mind ... the better I did on tour, the more I
thought I might get a chance of being picked. I'm playing well,
I've recharged my batteries and I'm adapting quicker than usual
to playing on clay."
Both Rochus brothers missed training earlier in the week,
with Christophe complaining of a cold and Olivier hit by a
slight tummy bug. But both have fully recovered.
Christophe said on Thursday he expected a long, hard battle
against Clement in the opening singles.
"He runs about a lot but I do, too. I'll have to try and vary
my play a bit so he doesn't build up a rhythm."
"Obviously, France are favorites but, with home support, it
could be closer than some think," he said.
Belgian captain Gabriel Gonzalez opted to hold Philip
Dewulf, French Open semifinalist in 1997, in reserve for
Sunday's singles. Under Davis Cup rules, the captains can change
who plays on the final day.
The unfancied Belgians will be hoping for a repeat of their
3-2 victory against their neighbors back in 1997 but the quality of
the French line-up points to an away win.
France won the Davis Cup in 1991, 1996 and six times in the
1920s and 30s. Belgium's best was a 5-0 defeat to the combined
British Isles in the final in 1904.
Friday's singles will be unusual for the players' small
stature.
In a sport in which 6 foot is the norm, the
Rochus brothers measure in at 5-7 and 5-5, while Clement is 5-8. Grosjean is a
the tallest at 5-9.
