The French tennis team makes its highly anticipated return to the Davis Cup Final 8 , a first since the 2019 reform. Les Bleus will face Belgium this Tuesday, November 18 at 4 p.m. in Bologna, Italy.

The forces involved

After qualifying brilliantly (4-0 victory against Brazil then 3-2 against Croatia), the French fielded a solid group composed of Arthur Rinderknech , Corentin Moutet , Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard , Benjamin Bonzi and Pierre-Hugues Herbert .

Belgium, led by Steve Darcis, arrives with high ambitions. The team is notably bolstered by Zizou Bergs and Raphaël Collignon (who notably defeated Alex De Minaur in qualifying). Young Alexander Blockx is also present, alongside the formidable doubles specialists Sander Gillé and Joran Vliegen , finalists at Roland-Garros 2023.

Match format and stakes

This quarter-final will be played as a best-of-three series: two singles matches, then a decisive doubles match if necessary. All matches will be played in a best-of-three-sets format.

The Belgians, finalists in the competition in 2017 and seeking their first victory against France since 1997, were quick to criticize the current format. Their captain, Steve Darcis, summed up this sentiment bluntly: "The format is truly disgusting."

The bracket and the rest of the competition

If France wins, they will face the winner of the match between Italy (without Jannik Sinner and Lorenzo Musetti) and Austria . In the other half of the bracket, Spain, Argentina, Czech Republic, and Germany will battle for a place in the final, scheduled for November 23 .

📺 TV Guide France - Belgium

1. Location: Bologna (Italy)
2. Date: Tuesday, November 18
3. Time: 4:00 PM
4. TV channel: The entire final phase of the Davis Cup is broadcast on beIN Sports .