France to face tall task in Davis Cup final versus Croatia
France will look to achieve back-to-back Davis Cup glory on the clay in Lille this weekend, when it hosts Croatia in a rematch of this summer's FIFA World Cup final.
The French team is playing for its 11th Davis Cup title, and the final championship before the format changes in 2019.
Croatia, however, made the final in 2016, and defeated France in the semis to get there. And with France missing its top three players—Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils and Gilles Simon—the Croatian team boasts a heavy advantage in singles, especially considering Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's injury-plagued season.
Here are the nominations to represent France and Croatia in what is perhaps the last traditional Davis Cup final:
Lucas Pouille
Age: 24
Ranking: No. 32 (Doubles No. 215)
Davis Cup Record: 7-3
Season Highlight: Title in Montpellier ATP 250
Jeremy Chardy
Age: 31
Ranking: No. 40 (Doubles No. 138)
Davis Cup Record: 5-1
Season Highlight: Winner of Surbiton Challenger
Pierre-Hugues Herbert
Age: 27
Ranking: No. 55 (Doubles No. 12)
Davis Cup Record: 6-2
Season Highlight: Roland Garros Doubles Champion
Nicolas Mahut
Age: 36
Ranking: No. 201 (Doubles No. 11)
Davis Cup Record: 9-4
Season Highlight: French Open doubles champion—and three other ATP titles
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Age: 33
Ranking: No. 259 (Unranked in Doubles)
Davis Cup Record: 27-9
Season Highlight: Got married in July
Marin Cilic
Age: 30
Ranking: No. 7 (Unranked in Doubles)
Davis Cup Record: 37-17
Season Highlight: Queen's Club champion
Borna Coric
Age: 22
Ranking: No. 12 (Doubles No. 778)
Davis Cup Record: 9-7
Season Highlight: Halle ATP 500 title
Franko Skugor
Age: 31
Ranking: No. 492 (Doubles No. 28)
Davis Cup Record: 3-4
Season Highlight: ATP doubles titles in Budapest, s-Hertogenbosch and Basel
Mate Pavic
Age: 25
Ranking: Doubles No. 4 (Unranked in Singles)
Davis Cup Record: 0-4
Season Highlight: Australian Open champion in both men's and mixed doubles
Ivan Dodig
Age: 33
Ranking: Doubles No. 35 (Unranked in Singles)
Davis Cup Record: 18-27
Season Highlight: Roland Garros mixed-doubles champion, plus two ATP doubles titles
In the World Cup of soccer, France won the final, 4-2. Croatia will look to even score in the coming days, at least in the eyes of tennis fans.
Play at the Stade Pierre Mauroy gets underway on Friday at 8 a.m. Eastern.