PARIS -- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet put France back in the Davis Cup final by winning the doubles and ending the two-year reign of the Czech Republic on Saturday. Custom Colorado Rockies Nike Jerseys . Tsonga and Gasquet, who won their singles on Friday, gave Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek a rare doubles defeat in Davis Cup, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-1 at Roland Garros. France, with an unassailable 3-0 lead, made the final for the first time since 2010. It won the last of its nine cups in 2001. The defending champion Czechs needed to win the doubles to keep alive their chances of reaching a third straight final, but Stepanek played with an apparent right hip injury that required frequent treatment, and Berdych, who lost his singles to Gasquet, struggled with consistency. "In the beginning of the second set I felt something in my lower back, I did not pay much attention to it, but with the time spent on the court it was getting worse and worse, and at the end of the second set I was very limited in my movements," said Stepanek, who was unable to sit during the news conference. "In normal circumstances I would have retired, but I believed I had to somehow finish the match." Both captains amended their pairings before the match, but Berdych and Stepanek could not extend their winning partnership, as they were handed only their second loss in 17 doubles in the competition, the last occasion to Spain in the 2009 final. France will either play the final away to Italy or at home against Switzerland. The Swiss lead 2-1 and the French players are already relishing the prospect of taking om Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka from Nov. 21-23. "To host such players is just fabulous," Gasquet said. "I know that Federer has yet to win the Davis Cup, but he has won 17 Grand Slam titles. He can leave us the Davis Cup." Berdych, who struggled to adjust to clay after reaching the U.S. Open quarterfinals last week, praised France. "The guy from the French team that played the most in Paris (Gael Monfils), who should play on clay for them, did not even step out on the court," he said. "Without him, they achieved a great result. It just shows how difficult the Davis Cup is. We did not have as many options as them, that was the difference." France captain Arnaud Clement admitted he was fortunate to have in-form players available. "Today, I had three possible teams, and all of them were capable of winning this match," he said. The French got off to a strong start on centre court, breaking in the second game when Gasquet fired a shot at Berdychs feet. They quickly led 4-1 but dropped three consecutive games as Stepanek raised his level. In the tiebreak, Gasquet unleashed a superb backhand pass to put the French 4-2 ahead, but the the Czechs regained momentum as they won five straight points to close out the set. The French had to dig deep to stave off seven break points early in the second set, and went a break up at 3-2 off Stepaneks serve when Tsonga hit a backhand crosscourt winner. Stepanek and Berdych left the court with the French up 5-4, for a medical timeout. They were greeted with jeers and whistles when they returned after a nearly 10-minute break. Tsonga looked unfazed and held his serve, wrapping up the set with an ace to level the set score. Berdych dropped his focus as he served two consecutive double faults in the error-riddled next game to hand the French a break. The tall Czech was again at fault when he missed a backhand volley on Stepaneks serve, with their opponents moving up 3-0. The twists and turns continued as the Czechs recovered, despite more treatment for Stepanek, who was in obvious pain. They won three straight games to lead 5-4, then failed to hold on to a 4-2 lead in the tiebreak. Gasquet fired a dazzling pass down the line to seal the set, raising his arms in triumph to the delight of the legion of French fans. Stepanek could hardly move in the fourth set, and the French wrapped it up decisively. Fake Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys . -- The Grand Rapids Griffins scored three goals in 33 seconds of the second period en route to defeating the Hamilton Bulldogs 6-1 in American Hockey League action on Friday. Custom St. Louis Cardinals Nike Jerseys . Correia pitched six innings of one-run ball, Eduardo Escobar homered, and the Minnesota Twins pulled away late to beat the Colorado Rockies 9-3 on Saturday. https://www.custombaseballnikejerseys.com/ .C. -- Glenn Howard needed an extra end to move into the Masters Grand Slam of Curling final.England Saxons gave away a 19-point lead before rallying late on to beat South Africa A 32-24 in Bloemfontein. Alec Hepburn, Semesa Rokoduguni, Dan Robson and Ollie Devoto scored tries for the Saxons, but it was only when Devoto scored a minute from time that victory was assured.A long-range penalty gave the home side an early lead, but the Saxons impressed over the remainder of the first-half and claimed the lead when Exeter prop Hepburn went over out wide for a try converted by the impressive Danny Cipriani. Cipriani made it 10-3 with a penalty and booted his second conversion after Rokoduguni scored a superb try, chipping the ball over the defence and running through to collect and touch down.Saracens centre Nicck Tompkins, who set up the first try, collected a second assist when his break ended with Gloucester scrum-half Robson jinking his way over the line. Custom Los Angeles Dodgers Nike Jerseys. That score made it 22-3 to the Saxons, but South Africa A came out refreshed in the second half and soon started to eat into the deficit, with Francois Brummer grabbing the first of their tries.Cipriani extended the lead back out to 15 points with a second penalty - he ended the game with 12 points - but South Africa responded with a close-range try from Piet Van Zyl.The lead was down to one point with 10 minutes remaining when Sikhumbuzo Notshe finished off a flowing move, but a nervous finale went in Englands favour thanks to Devotos late try, also converted by Cipriani. ' ' '  |
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