Safin and Grosjean keep cup on even keel

It is a rarity for tennis players to compete for their countries rather than themselves. For this reason alone the Davis Cup, and especially the final, is one of the annual peaks of a crowded calendar that is filled with more dross than is good for it. Only 10 nations have won the competition in its rich and varied history dating back to 1900, and here this weekend the Russians are attempting to become the 11th against the French.

France have been one of the dominant forces over the past decade, a testimony to the superb national structure aided by considerable financial backing from the government. Until 1991 they had gone nearly 60 years without winning the competition they had dominated from 1927-32, but this final is their fifth in the last 12 years, three of which they have won, including victory in Australia last year.

Nevertheless, and despite France's home advantage, the Russians began the final yesterday as marginal favourites, particularly because of Marat Safin, the current world No 3. He is a powerhouse of a player capable of beating the best with something to spare, as Australia's Lleyton Hewitt, the world No 1, found out in the final of the Paris Indoor Open last month.

The problem with Safin, the former US Open champion, is that form is a fragile companion. With Arnaud Clement struggling with a wrist problem, the French decided to throw the young tyro Paul-Henri Mathieu against him. The 20-year-old won their only previous meeting in the semi-final of this year's Kremlin Cup in Moscow, where Mathieu went on to win his first title.

It was still a gamble by the French captain Guy Forget and one that failed, with Safin winning the opening match 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4. The alternative would have been to play the totally unorthodox Fabrice Santoro, who has a 6-1 career advantage over Safin and had the Russian tied up in knots at this year's French Open over five enthralling sets.

But Forget plumped for youth and at the end of the second set it appeared he might have been right. A nerveless Mathieu appeared not to have a defensive thought in his mind and seized on anything short with an explosive intensity that frequently had Safin shaking his head. "He has a big future and played some unbelievable tennis," said the Russian, who appeared totally out of sorts at the beginning of the third set.

The contrast between the two team captains could not have been greater. Forget was all nervous tension, living every point and rarely if ever keeping still. Shamil Tarpischev on the other hand sat cross-legged and impassive, the very model of those Soviet coaches of yesteryear. Even the former Russian president Boris Yeltsin looked more animated, rocking backwards and forwards as the first two sets ebbed and flowed.

Forget must have believed Mathieu was getting on top but a double fault and a loose forehand in the Frenchman's opening service game of the third set saw Safin gain a grip he never released. The Russian's first serve reached a greater level of consistency and penetration, while he turned up the power on his ground strokes, curbing Mathieu's attacking instincts.

The large number of Russians in the crowd began to out-cheer the French, making for a near-riotous atmosphere. But their hopes of finishing the day 2-0 up were quickly dispelled by Sébastien Grosjean, the French No 1, who dismantled a disappointing Yevgeny Kafelnikov in straight sets, 7-6, 6-3, 6-0.

Kafelnikov, who has said he will retire if Russia win the final, has had a poor year, although an early service break in the fifth game of the first set gave him 3-2 advantage over Grosjean.

Thereafter it was downhill for the former French Open champion, who appeared to get slower and slower on the indoor clay and was constantly passed by the Frenchman's pulverising forehand. He will hope to redeem himself in today's crucial doubles.