Aurélien Canot, Media365, published on Monday January 6, 2025 at 2:38 p.m.
Paul-Henri Mathieu revealed on Monday the players of the France team selected to face Brazil in Orléans on February 1 and 2 during the 1st round of the Davis Cup qualifying phase. Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who has never been selected before, will make his big debut with the Blues.
Baptism of fire for Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard. The rise of the new nugget of French tennis, back this Monday in the world Top 30 (in 30th place) the day after his semi-final lost in Brisbane, did not escape Paul-Henri Mathieu. The captain of the French Davis Cup team revealed on Monday the French players selected to face Brazil in Orléans on February 1 and 2 for the first round of the qualifying phase of the competition (Editor's note: If they qualify, the Blues will face the winner of the match between Croatia and Slovakia). And the winner of the Basel and Lyon tournaments last season is among those selected, along with Ugo Humbert, the highest ranked of our representatives (14th), Arthur Fils (20th) and Pierre-Hugues Herbert (149th), our best doubles specialist since Nicolas Mahut decided to take a break (Editor's note: He should resume in February with the aim of competing at Roland-Garros alongside Herbert). The immense server (he measures 2.01 m) aged only 21 will therefore make his big debut in the blue jersey. “Ugo, Arthur and Giovanni had a great 2024 season, they are ahead in the rankings, they finished the year well, so it is a logical choice. After his long injury, Pierre-Hugues is coming back well in singles and he has decided to do a little more doubles again, it's important for me to have his experience within the team”, explains Mathieu on the FFT website, without hiding his apprehension before facing the Brazilians, even if. France will leave favorite.
Mathieu: “Very happy to play in front of our audience”
“On paper, we are favorites but we will have to take this meeting very seriously. They have talented players, like João Fonseca who has just won the Next Gen Masters, at 18 years old. Thiago Seyboth Wild is a dangerous player on all surfaces. They also have experienced players, in doubles with Marcelo Mello and in singles with Thiago Monteiro. The captain of the Blues also assures that the fact of receiving constitutes a very important advantage in the Davis Cup, coupled with an immense pleasure. “We are very happy to play in front of our home crowd. It’s a good thing to play again at home. It’s also good for the promotion of our sport.”
