France and Serbia are level at 1-1 in their Davis Cup semi-final after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga dispatched 22-year-old debutant Laslo Djere in straight sets, following Lucas Pouille's shock defeat in the opening singles match.
In the absence of Novak Djokovic, Viktor Troicki and Janko Tipsarevic, the French were expected to enjoy a calm weekend in the northern city of Lille but Dusan Lajovic made the most of Pouille's inconsistent display to give Serbia a 1-0 lead on the red clay of the Pierre Mauroy Stadium.
The 80th-ranked Lajovic made a strong start and capitalised on Pouille's mistakes to prevail 6-1 3-6 7-6 (9-7) 7-6 (7-5). The Frenchman never found the right tempo, made wrong tactical choices, and hit a total of 70 unforced errors.
Playing with the French Davis Cup team for the first time this season, Tsonga made a successful return in the team competition and won 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 6-3.
In Lille, the 22nd-ranked Pouille dropped his serve immediately and looked nervous throughout the first set wrapped up by Lajovic in 25 minutes.
"The biggest advantage for me was to win the first set," Lajovic said.
"It's always important in Davis Cup."
Lajovic had cramps in his right foot towards the end of the fourth set and needed some help from Serbia player and captain Nenad Zimonjic to put his shoe back on after hitting an overhead winner for a 5-4 lead in the fourth-set tiebreaker.
"It would have been extremely difficult to play five sets," Lajovic said.
French pair Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut will face Filip Krajinovic and Zimonjic in the doubles on Saturday.
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