01-08-2020, 02:29 AM
PARIS -- Setting their sights on a first Davis Cup win since 2001, the French players are finding extra motivation in the daunting task awaiting them. Guy Rodgers Jersey . France earned its place in the final by ending the two-year dominance of Czech Republic in the team competition with a 4-1 win over the defending champions on clay at Roland Garros. They now need to overcome Roger Federers Switzerland. The 17-time Grand Slam champion put his country back in the final for the first time in 22 years by beating Fabio Fognini of Italy in the opening reverse singles Sunday for a winning 3-1 lead in their semifinal. The Davis Cup is the only major trophy still missing from Federers collection. "Federer is a monument of tennis, this is a dream final," said Richard Gasquet, Frances standout player of the weekend. Gael Monfils wrapped up victory for France with a 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 defeat of Lukas Rosol on Sunday after Jiri Vesely salvaged some pride for the Czechs by beating Julien Benneteau 6-4, 6-3 in a consolation win in the first reverse singles. "There is no need for motivation when you are in the final, but hosting Federer adds an extra something to a sumptuous final," Benneteau said. France booked its place in the final on Saturday when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gasquet won the doubles to give the hosts an unassailable 3-0 lead. Monfils was initially set to play the opening singles but was replaced by Gasquet by France captain Arnaud Clement after failing to recover from jet lag following his quarterfinalist placing at the U.S. Open last week. Clements decision paid dividends as Gasquet put France on the right track with a straight sets victory against the sixth-ranked Tomas Berdych before Tsonga extended his teams lead to 2-0 by beating Rosol. "Everybody speaks about a dream final against Switzerland, but for me the dream is just that France will be there," Clement said. "With Federer and Stan Wawrinka, Its obviously a big contest but the important thing is that we are in the final." Switzerland has never won the competition and lost its only final in 1992 against the United States. After hosting the Czechs at Roland Garros, the French are trying to finalize a deal for the tie to be staged in a bigger venue, with the northern city of Lille being touted as the likely host. Clement said he will have lengthy discussions with his players before deciding on the surface, but Tsonga played down the importance of the decision. "It wont have a big impact on the result," said Tsonga. "All the players that will be involved are capable of playing well on all surfaces." Adrian Smith Jersey . But Josh Bailey scored the shootout winner to lead the Islanders to a 3-2 win over the Montreal Canadiens in a battle of the Eastern Conferences two worst teams. LaSalle Thompson Jersey . A person familiar with the decision told The Associated Press the Steelers will part ways with the former Pro Bowler, a move that hardly serves as a surprise after fifth-year linebacker Jason Worilds agreed to accept a "transition player" tag last week. https://www.cheapkingsbasketball.com/123...kings.html . Niese pitched seven steady innings on a rainy Tuesday night and Daniel Murphy had three hits to lead New York to a 6-1 victory over the Phillies.GUELPH, Ont. - Robby Fabbri had a hat trick and added an assist as the Guelph Storm beat the Plymouth Whalers 9-3 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action.Matthew Hotchkiss struck twice for the Storm (11-9-1), who scored five straight third-period goals.Austin Hall, Adam Craievich, Tyler Bertuzzi and Chris Marchese supplied the rest of the Guelph offence.Bryce Yetman, Matt Mistele and Mathieu Henderson replied for Plymouth (8-12-2).Justin Nichols made 29 saves for the win while Alex Nedeljkovic turned aside 39 shots for the Whalers.The Storms power play was dominant, scoring six times on eight chances. Plymouth failed to score on six opportunities with the man advantage.---ATTACK 3 FRONTENACS 2 (OT)KINGSTON, Ont. — Chris Bigras scored at 1:02 of overtime as Owen Sound edged the Frontenacs.Jaden Lindo and Zach Nastasiuk also had goals for the Attack (11-5-5).Ryan Kujawinski struck twice for Kingston (9-7-3), which has not lost in regulation in four games.---OTTERS 7 STING 1SARNIA, Ont. — Patrick Murphy and Taylor Raddysh both struck twice in Eries rout of the Sting.Dylan Strome had a four point night for the Otters (18-3-1), scoring once and adding three assists. Kyle Maksimovich and Alex DeBrincat added the other goals.Anthony DeAngelo responded for Sarnia (8-11-2), which had a two-game winning streak snapped.---SPIRIT 2 ICEDOGS 1SAGINAW, Mich. — Nick Moutrey had the go-ahead goal at 18:27 of the third period as the Spirit edged Niagara.Dylan Sadowy also scored in the third period for Saginaw (10-9-2).Aaron Haydon opened the scoring for the IceDogs (6-15-0).---RANGERS 2 SPITFIRES 1KITCHENER, Ont. —— Brent Pedersen found the back of the net at 18:17 of the third period as the Rangers edged Windsor. Mike Woodson Jersey. .Mike Davies also scored for Kitchener (12-3-6).Trevor Murphy scored for the Spitfires (7-13-1), who lost their third straight.---KNIGHTS 6 STEELHEADS 3LONDON, Ont. — Mitchell Marner scored four times and added an assist as the Knights got past Mississauga.Christian Dvorak and Max Domi rounded out the London (14-8-0) attack.Michael McLeod, Jimmy Lodge and Brandon Devlin all had goals for the Steelheads (8-11-1).---GREYHOUNDS 4 67S 3 (OT)OTTAWA — Edmonton Oilers prospect Darnell Nurse scored in overtime as Sault Ste. Marie beat the 67s.Charley Graaskamp, Tim Gettinger and Gabe Guertler supplied the rest of the Greyhounds (17-5-0) offence. It was the teams seventh straight victory.Travis Konecny, Trent Mallette and Dante Salituro found the back of the net for Ottawa (9-8-2).---BATTALION 2 WOLVES 1SUDBURY, Ont. — Ray Huether scored the game-winning goal in the third period for North Bay as they edged the Wolves.David Sherman had the other goal for the Battalion (12-5-4), who won their second straight.Nathan Pancel chipped in with his 10th of the season for Sudbury (4-19-0).---GENERALS 6 BULLS 4OSHAWA, Ont. — Cole Cassels had two goals and two assists to lead the Generals past Belleville.Bradley Latour, Anthony Cirelli, Tobias Lindberg and Kenny Huether rounded out the Oshawa (18-2-1) attack. The win was the Genrals seventh straight.Brandon Saigeon struck twice for the Bulls (12-8-2), who lost their third straight. Stephen Harper and Alex Yuill also found the back of the net. ' ' '