LA ROCHE-SUR-YON, France (AP) - Gael Monfils completed France’s 5-0 rout of Australia in the first round of the Davis Cup by defeating Nick Kyrgios 7-6 (5), 6-4 Sunday.
Monfils dropped serve twice but broke Kyrgios three times, after Julien Benneteau cruised past Thanasi Kokkinakis 6-4, 6-1 in Sunday’s first reverse singles match.
Benneteau broke Kokkinakis four times and did not face a single break point, hitting 30 winners to 14 for his opponent.
France secured a spot in the quarterfinals of the competition when Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet defeated Lleyton Hewitt and Chris Guccione 5-7, 7-6 (4), 6-2, 7-5 in Saturday’s doubles to hand the hosts an unassailable 3-0 lead.
On Friday, Tsonga eased past Hewitt 6-3, 6-2, 7-6 (2), and Gasquet routed Kyrgios 7-6 (3), 6-2, 6-2.
France will face Germany in the quarterfinals while Australia will compete in the playoffs to stay in the World Group.
Despite the defeat, Australia still holds a 10-5 record against France in the competition.
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