Davis Cup Final: Yannick Noah gamble pays off as France lead Belgium 2-1

Lille: France captain Yannick Noah`s gamble in pairing Richard Gasquet and Pierre-Hugues Herbert together for the first time paid off on Saturday as the duo gave France a 2-1 lead over Belgium in the Davis Cup final.

Gasquet and Herbert defeated Ruben Bemelmans and Joris de Loore 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-4 to leave the hosts requiring just one point from Sunday`s closing two singles.

"It`s great they won because my head was on the line!" smiled Noah.

"I thought they`d complement each other technically. There were obviously mistakes but I found that they were helping each other out.

"Their style of play gelled well, with Richard very solid at the back and on return, and Pierre-Hugues strong in the volleys."

He added: "Sometimes you have to take difficult decisions and this one was very difficult."

Gasquet commented: "We knew we`d be at a good level tennis-wise but above all we had to be strong and balanced mentally."

Belgium`s hopes of claiming a first title in the venerable competition now rest with their in-form number one David Goffin denying Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Sunday`s opening singles.

"That`s going to be a massive match," predicted Noah.

"With France leading 2-1, the two countries` number one players, I`ve thought about this for a long time."

If Goffin keeps the tie alive it will then go down to the fifth and closing rubber between Lucas Pouille or Gasquet and Belgium`s Davis Cup specialist Steve Darcis.

Belgium`s captain Johan Van Herck is not giving up hope of a closing-day comeback.

"We`ve shown that we know how to fight as a team. We`ve got two great cards to play tomorrow," he said.

Pouille lost Friday`s opening match to world number seven Goffin before Tsonga levelled the match with a comprehensive defeat of Darcis.

Gasquet and Herbert put France, seeking their first title since 2001, in pole position after a gruelling three hours and three minutes on court at Lille`s Stade Pierre-Mauroy in front of a deafening 25,000 crowd.

Gasquet and Herbert reeled off the first set in half an hour, before a lacklustre service game from Herbert put Belgium 3-1 up in the second set.

Bemelmans, ranked 118th in the world, and the 276th-ranked De Loore duly levelled the encounter, before taking a 4-3 lead in the third set when breaking Gasquet`s serve after De Loore drilled a forehand at Herbert`s head, leaving him dazed.

But lifted by their home fans, Gasquet and Herbert powered back to take that on a tiebreak before getting the all-important break in the fourth set for a potentially decisive win.

Herbert, selected over his regular doubles partner Nicolas Mahut, said he took the change in his partner in his stride.

"I know I`m adaptable and we play well together.

"Richie is a reliable player who barely ever misses a return."

Gasquet added: "We produced a great tie-break... We knew that was going to be decisive, it was important to win that."

Goffin and Tsonga are due on court for Sunday`s climax from 1230 GMT.