Belgium took the lead against France in the opening match of the Davis Cup final in Bologna, as organizers confirmed discussions would take place over the future format of the tournament in the absence of top players at this year’s event.
86th-ranked Raphaël Collignon fought back to beat French world number 35 Corentin Moutet 2-6 7-5 7-5, leaving teammate Zizou Bergs with a chance for victory against Arthur Rinderknech later.
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World number one Carlos Alcaraz announced earlier Tuesday that he had withdrawn from the Spanish team due to an injury suffered during Sunday’s ATP Finals.
That leaves Germany’s Alexander Zverev as the only top 10 player in men’s singles to compete in this year’s Davis Cup showpiece week.
While injuries have prevented some from representing their nation, other players – including Italy’s world number two Jannik Sinner – have opted to maximize their recovery time at the start of the sport’s six-week off-season.
Both Alcaraz and Sinner have hinted that they would be in favor of the Davis Cup being a biennial event.
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International Tennis Federation (ITF) chief executive Ross Hutchins told BBC Sport he would consult with the sport’s top players to explore what the tournament can do to encourage their participation in the final major event of the season.
“The history of this event is a very, very popular team competition that has been – consistently over the last 125 years – an annual event,” Hutchins said.
“We have a three-year contract at Bologna, which we are very excited about. Malaga has done very well in recent years as a late-season product – top players playing, incredible stories – so the question is what’s right for the future.
“I have very close relationships with the top players and the governing bodies, so I will discuss their views.
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“We know what was written and what was said, so inevitably I will have those conversations and we can go from there.”
On the court, Moutet won the first set against Collignon after taking a 4-0 lead thanks to a double break of serve.
But the Frenchman only had himself to blame when he was taken to a deciding match, losing his serve – and the second set – after falling behind 15-30 as a needless shot at the net fell short, with Collignon already walking away from the court.
It proved a costly mistake as Collignon increased the pressure in the final set, finally ending Moutet’s resistance in the 12th game after the Belgian was unable to take his first four break points.
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The winning team will face Italy or Austria in the semifinals on Friday.
In the other half of the table, Spain faces the Czech Republic, while Argentina faces Germany.
Great Britain are out of the Davis Cup final after losing 3-2 to Japan in the first qualifying round in February.
