France captain Yannick Noah's gamble on players and court surface backfired against Croatia on the opening day of the Davis Cup final.
Noah chose Jeremy Chardy and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to meet Croatia on indoor clay, and they were both beaten in straight sets, leaving the Croats on the verge of their second Davis Cup crown.
Borna Coric dismantled Chardy 6-2 7-5 6-4 and Marin Cilic defeated an injured Tsonga 6-3 7-5 6-4 at Pierre Mauroy Stadium in the opening singles.
Croatia, winners in 2005, lead 2-0 and can wrap up the tie against the defending champions by winning the doubles on Saturday.
Noah decided to open with Chardy instead of Lucas Pouille, who clinched victory in last year's final, and he was no match for Coric.
Tsonga was sidelined by a knee injury for seven months until September. His lack of competitive matches became obvious, as he was second-best in all aspects and injured toward the end of his match.
He defied doctor's orders to complete the encounter.
"When I got out of the court, when the doctors tested me, they said to me 'Maybe it would be better for you to stop'," the 33-year-old former world No.5 told reporters.
"It was not conceivable for me, the match was under way. There are 25,000 people in the stadium. There are many more behind their television, watching us.
"For me the least thing was to lose, very well, but with your head up, to go on the ground and fight me to the end with the means that I had today."
When asked about his selections, Noah said, "You can try to rewrite history, but it does not work that way."
A glimmer of hope remains with Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert, who reached the final at the ATP Finals last week, favoured against Mate Pavic and Ivan Dodig.
"As long as we are not definitely dead, we always try to hang on to something," Noah, who has guided France to three of their 10 Davis Cup final triumphs, said.
