Event of the Day: Davis Cup Final Day 1
Our event of the dayis the first day of this year’s Davis Cup Final at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille, France. Belgium and France will be competing for the 2017 Davis Cup on Friday as they begin the three-day final. France are looking for their first Davis Cup win since 2001, Yannick Noah is their captain and he has a strong team. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Lucas Pouille, Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Richard Gasquet make up a strong team. They beat Serbia 3-1 in the semi-final after easing past Great Britain in the quarters. Belgium narrowly beat Australia 3-2 in their semi-final after getting past Italy in the round before. The four players that will make up their team are David Goffin, Steve Darcis, Ruben Bemelmans and Joris de Loore, they are captained by Johan van Herck. Goffin comes into the final in great form after beating Rafa Nadal and Roger Federer at the ATP Finals and he is the highest ranked player left competing, as he is currently ranked 7th in the world.
However, it is the French that are considered as the favourites for the clash with their overall strong line-up. The two nations will play over this weekend and it will conclude on Sunday, where we will know the winner. There will be five matches in total: two singles matches on Friday, a doubles match on Saturdayand two more singles matches on Sunday. A point is given for a win and the first team to reach three points will win the Davis Cup. It should be a thrilling weekend of tennis.
Honourable mentions
around the globe go to the Rugby League World Cup semi-final match between Fiji and Australia at the Brisbane Stadium in Brisbane. Both sides are looking to advance into the final of the World Cup, where they will face either England or Tonga from the other semi-final. Australia go into the match as big favourites on their home turf and should make the final against a spirited Fiji team. In the NHL, the Tampa Bay Lightning face the Washington Capitals in the big game of the day. There’s football from across Europe’s big leagues as West Ham and Leicester City face off in the Premier League, Celta Vigo and Leganés meet in La Liga, Hannover face Stuttgart in the Bundesliga and in Ligue 1, Strasbourg make the trip to Saint-Etienne. Friday is the second day of the 2017 Ashes series between the England and Australia cricket sides and England are looking to build on their 196 runs for the loss of 4 wickets. In the NBA, the match between the Toronto Raptors and the Indiana Pacers is the pick of the games and in the golf, there is action from the UBS Hong Kong Open.
Whatever you're watching, enjoy.
Fixture
Photos by ATP World Tour