04 Mar 2005 - Hall Rhenus Sport, Strasbourg, FRA
- Lewis Cumberland - FRA v SWE
Mathieu puts France ahead
The first rubber of this 2005 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas first round tie
between France and Sweden was not much of a contest. Local hero Paul-Henri
Mathieu took care of business by beating his opponent, Swedish No. 1 Joachim
Johansson, in three quick sets 6-3 6-4 6-2 in 2 hours and 4 minutes.
In the first set, it was very easy to see which of the two players had played
the indoor tournaments (Johansson in Milan, Marseille, Rotterdam) and which
one spent the month of February on the south American continent working on
his clay court skills (Mathieu in Vina del Mar, Buenos Aires, Costa do
Sauipe).
Indeed Mathieu's game was adapted to the clay court surface here in
Strasbourg, playing deep into the Johansson backhand court and forcing the
Swedish giant to run around his backhand. However Johansson seemed to have
forgotten his footwork somewhere between Stockholm and Strasbourg, and was
unable to get his game together. Aside from the occasional break point to
his name, there was not much to be said about Johansson in the first set,
who lost the set 6-3 in just 39 minutes.
The second set was a replica of the first, with one slight difference: Mats
Wilander hinted to his player that maybe he should try and switch his game
up a little. And indeed Mathieu, or "Polo"팠as he's better known around
town, had some trouble dealing with the change of speed and rhythm that
the Swede put on the ball. Fortunately for the 6200-strong home crowd,
Mathieu held firm and despite three set points lost by the Frenchman, who
seemed to be slightly affected by the pressure expectation from his
supporters, he was able to make the fourth one. Mathieu served a winner to
Johansson's backhand, sealing the second set and in a way the match with it,
as he shattered all hopes for the Swede to come back into a match which he
never really got into.
Set number three was a formality as all the pressure was on the shoulders of
"PimPim" who, with his back to the wall, was faced with mounting a comeback
from two sets to love if he was to give his team the first point. However
there was little chance of such a fightback, as Mathieu was now in total
control, producing textbook clay court tennis with strong topspin forehands
that kicked up to Johansson's backhand.
Against this there was not much the Swede could do but hope for Mathieu to
lose his focus and momentum. A lot to ask of a player performing in front of
his home crowd, in a competition that remains at the top of his priority list
year in year out. The third set was clinched 6-2 in 32 minutes, and with it
the first rubber for France.
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