France Wins Its Ninth Davis Cup
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From Wire Reports
MELBOURNE, Australia — France won the Davis Cup tennis title for the ninth time today, as Nicolas Escude beat Australia’s Wayne Arthurs in the deciding match of the best-of-five final.
Escude defeated Arthurs, playing as a late replacement for the injured Pat Rafter, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, to secure a 3-2 victory. World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt earlier beat Sebastien Grosjean in straight sets to tie the match at 2-2.
France overcame the challenge of playing on grass--its least favorite surface--to win its first title since 1996. Australia, a 27-time champion, beat France in the 1999 final and lost to Spain last year.
Each team won one of the opening singles matches Friday and France won the doubles Saturday.
