Dec. 2, 2002

French Davis Cup captain Forget stands by his strategy

SportsLine.com wire reports

PARIS -- French Davis Cup captain Guy Forget insists his strategy was sound.

"If I had to do it all over again, I would change nothing," he said. "I regret nothing."

France was close to a second straight Davis Cup title Sunday, but lost 3-2 to a Russian team that became the first finalist in 38 years to overcome a 2-1 deficit.

Mikhail Youzhny sealed Russia's victory by beating Paul-Henri Mathieu, rallying from two sets down to win 3-6, 2-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. The 20-year-old Youzhny was a ball boy the last time Russia played in a Davis Cup final.

Forget selected Mathieu for the championship round although he had no previous Davis Cup experience. Mathieu lost the opening match to Marat Safin.

Forget stuck with the 20-year-old player for the fifth and final match when he could have fielded the more experienced Fabrice Santoro. Mathieu came within two points of giving France the title, at 5-4 and the score 40-40 in the fourth set.

Youzhny was a late replacement for Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who was worn out by his doubles defeat Saturday. Earlier Sunday, Safin downed Sebastien Grosjean, France's top player.

After the victory, as Mathieu burst into tears, former Russian President Boris Yeltsin left his seat in the stands, walked onto the court and hugged Youzhny and the rest of the winning team.

"Did I bring luck?" Yeltsin said. "Yes, you could say I was their mascot."

In Paris, French President Jacques Chirac invited the French team to lunch on Monday.

"Your attitude on court is an example for all sports and I wish to thank you sincerely," he said.

Russia's victory was hailed by President Vladimir Putin.

"It's a major and bright victory for all Russian sport," Putin said Monday on TV from China, where he was on a state visit.

Russia's national television channels, none of which showed the Youzhny-Mathieu match, tried to make up for the omission Monday by repeatedly showing Youzhny's victory.

"Safin, Youzhny, Kafelnikov: Heroes of Russia," blared the headline in Russia's leading sports daily, Sport Express.

"It's a victory that can help us raise our children," Vyacheslav Fetisov, the former hockey star who now serves as the head of the government's sports committee, said on RTR television.

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