Tennis Canada – Gasquet and Tsonga defeat Bester and Dancevic in dead rubbers
 
Guadeloupe, March 6, 2016 – France completed the 5-0 sweep of the Canadian Davis Cup team in their Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group first round tie on Sunday after securing victories in both the reverse singles matches. Richard Gasquet defeated Philip Bester 6-1, 7-6(4) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Frank Dancevic as the Canadian was forced to retire due to a pectoral injury after taking the first set 7-6(7). Bester replaced Vasek Pospisil in the lineup as he was originally scheduled to play the first match.
 
After France clinched the tie on Saturday with a win in doubles, the Sunday reverse singles were played as “dead rubbers”. Instead of best-of-five set matches, they were played as best-of-three. Dancevic captured Canada’s only set of the weekend before having to retire in the fifth rubber.
 
With the tie victory, France has moved on to the quarter-finals and will face the Czech Republic in July. Canada will next play a World Group play-off tie in September to try and keep their spot in the upper echelon of the competition.
 
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the largest annual international team competition in sport. A total of 135 nations are participating in 2016 and only the top 16 countries each year qualify for the World Group and play for the prestigious Davis Cup trophy.

QUOTES

“I wasn’t going to go down without a fight today. This has been a great opportunity for me here and I need to take the positives forward with me to my next events, stay healthy and keep improving.”

• Philip Bester on his effort against Richard Gasquet on Sunday

“Our players gave their all this weekend but it was simply not enough against a team as strong as France. Now that they beat us, I wish for them to go all the way and win the Davis Cup this year. On our side, we will have to get ready for the important tie we will have in September in order to stay in the World Group.”

• Canadian captain Martin Laurendeau’s final thoughts on the weekend

LOOKING AHEAD

Canada will next compete in a World Group play-off tie from September 16-18, 2016 to try and keep their spot amongst the top 16 countries in the world. Canada has competed in the World Group for five consecutive years after advancing out of the Americas Zone Group I in 2011.
 
The 16 countries that will face-off in World Group play-off ties are the eight losing nations from the World Group first round and the eight nations that advance out of their respective zonal ties. The final round of zonal ties will be played from July 15-17. The draw to determine the match-ups and choice of ground will be conducted following the completion of those ties.

 

 FINAL RESULTS

 
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas – First Round
Canada vs. France
March 4-6, 2016
Vélodrome Amédée Detraux
Guadeloupe, France
France Wins 5-0
 

Date	Event	Match/Result
Friday March 4	First Singles Rubber	Monfils d. Dancevic 6-3, 6-1, 6-3
Friday March 4	Second Singles Rubber	Simon d. Pospisil 7-5, 6-3, 6-3
Saturday March 5	Doubles Rubber	Gasquet/Tsonga d. Pospisil/Bester 7-6(4), 6-1, 7-6(4)
Sunday March 6	Third Singles Rubber	Gasquet d. Bester 6-1, 7-6(4)
Sunday March 6	Fourth Singles Rubber	Tsonga d. Dancevic 6-7(7), RET.

About Davis Cup
Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the World Cup of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in sport, with 135 teams entered in 2016. The competition is 116 years old having been founded in 1900. The title sponsor is BNP Paribas, the Official Bank of Davis Cup. International sponsors are Rolex (Official Timekeeper), Adecco (Official HR Sponsor) and Betway (Official Betting Sponsor). beIN SPORTS is the Official Global Media Rights Partner. Follow all the action on www.daviscup.com, www.copadavis.com, www.twitter.com/daviscup, www.facebook.com/DavisCupTennis, www.Weibo.com/daviscupofficial and www.DavisCup.tv.  

About Tennis Canada
Founded in 1890, Tennis Canada is a non-profit, national sport association with a mission to lead the growth of tennis in Canada and a vision to become a world-leading tennis nation. We value teamwork, passion, integrity, innovation and excellence. Tennis Canada owns and operates the premier Rogers Cup presented by National Bank WTA and ATP World Tour events, eight professional ITF-sanctioned events and financially supports 15 other professional tournaments in Canada. Tennis Canada operates national junior training centres/programs in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. Tennis Canada is a proud member of the International Tennis Federation, the Canadian Olympic Committee, the Canadian Paralympic Committee and the International Wheelchair Tennis Association, and serves to administer, sponsor and select the teams for Davis Cup, Fed Cup, the Olympic and Paralympic Games and all wheelchair, junior and senior national teams. Tennis Canada invests its surplus into tennis development. For more information on Tennis Canada, please visit our website at www.tenniscanada.com and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
 
Media Contacts (Toronto):
Sarah Grossman, National Manager, Communications and Media Relations, Professional Tennis    
                sgrossman@tenniscanada.com, 416-509-9694
 
Media Contacts (Montreal):
Valerie Tetreault, Regional Manager, Communications and Media Relations      
                vtetreault@tenniscanada.com, 514-519-1606