By ,
Published May 02, 2016
Frankfurt, Germany (SportsNetwork.com) - The opening-round Davis Cup tie between France and Germany concluded with a pair of dead rubber victories Sunday by the hosts in Frankfurt.
The French clinched a spot in July's quarterfinals by taking an insurmountable 3-0 lead with a doubles victory by Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut on Saturday. Friday's opening singles saw Gilles Simon and Gael Monfils give the visitors from France a commanding 2-0 cushion.
Sunday's meaningless reverse singles saw Philipp Kohlschreiber beat Gilles Simon 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 and Jan-Lennard Struff top Nicolas Mahut 7-6 (8-6), 6-3 at Fraport Arena.
The nine-time Davis Cup champion French will next play Great Britain in July's quarterfinals.
France hasn't won the crown since 2001 and last year came up just short with a loss to Switzerland in the final.
Germany, which won the last of its three Davis Cup titles in 1993, was eliminated by France for a second straight year. The French roared back from an 0-2 deficit in last year's quarterfinals to pull off the stunning victory.
The Germans are 2-9 all-time against their European neighbors and haven't beaten France in the storied competition since 1938.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/germany-wins-dead-rubbers-in-davis-cup-loss-to-france