Rouen, France (Sports Network) - Friday's opening singles rubber will pit
French star Jo-Wilfried Tsonga against unknown Israeli Amir Weintraub, as
France hosts Israel in a best-of-five opening-round Davis Cup affair.
Tsonga-Weintraub will be followed by a match between 10th-ranked Richard
Gasquet and Dudi Sela. The world No. 8 Tsonga is a former Australian Open
runner-up who is 10-3 in his Davis Cup singles action.
Saturday's doubles match will pit a French tandem of Julien Benneteau and
Michael Llodra versus an Israeli pairing of Sela and Jonathan Erlich, while
Sunday's reverse singles currently call for Tsonga to meet Sela and Gasquet to
take on Weintraub.
The tie will be staged on an indoor hardcourt at Rouen's Kindarena.
Team France, seeking its first title since 2001, is led by first-year captain
Arnaud Clement, while heavy underdog Israel is led by Eyal Ran.
The nine-time champion French are 3-0 all-time against Israel, with their last
meeting coming back in 1998.
The France-Israel winner will move on to face the Argentina-Germany victor in
April.
The Sports Network