France unveil Davis Cup team for Canada
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils, Mickael Llodra and Julien Benneteau will form the France team to face Canada in the Davis Cup in Vancouver on February 10-12, the French Tennis Federation (FFT) announced on Tuesday.
In his final season as captain of the France team, Guy Forget will deploy Tsonga and Monfils in the singles on Friday and pair Llodra with Benneteau in Saturday's doubles, the FFT revealed.
"I don't think it's a huge surprise," said Forget. "When you're lucky enough to have players like Gilles Simon and Richard Gasquet, not selecting them seems like a luxury.
"Today we could have lots of competitive France teams."
On the subject of his decision to select only four players, rather than five as in recent years, Forget said that "the only big risk would be to have one or two injuries in Canada".
"The objective is that all the players selected have an important role to play," he added. "I realise, in hindsight, that there's been a lot of frustration for certain players in recent years."
Monfils is the only player in the team currently in action at the ATP tournament in Montpellier.
Canada, ranked 14th in the world, return to the Davis Cup World Group this year after seven seasons at the level below.
Their players include young prospect Milos Raonic, who has climbed from 156th to 25th in the ATP world ranking this year.
The winners of the World Group first-round tie will advance to the quarterfinals.