Your Davis Cup reactions

Nicolas Escude defeats Australia's Wayne Arthurs to clinch the Davis Cup for France.

But did they deserve victory?

Nicolas Escude beat Wayne Arthurs in four sets to clinch victory for France in the decisive rubber of the Davis Cup final.

Australia had gone into the final in Melbourne as favourites but started badly when world number one Hewitt was defeated by Escude.

Pat Rafter levelled the series with a win over Sebastien Grosjean.

But Rafter and Hewitt where the surprise choice of coach John Fitzgerald to play the doubles and slipped to defeat at the hands of Fabrice Santoro and Cedric Pioline.

Hewitt recovered to beat Grosjean and set up the decider.

Did France excel themselves, or did Australia gift them the Cup?

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That either France won the cup or the Aussies gave it up is somehow irrelevant! If Fitzgerald had Rafter playing the double, that's probably because he rated him better than Woodbridge that very day. We weren't there in the changing room to know everything.

Meanwhile, I have to say I'm quite delighted by the fact that the Australia team were beaten on that "funky" field they had chosen for themselves - that was a nice twist of fate!
Marc, French (London based)

I can see once again an anti-French feeling in England. In football we are world and European champions and the bookies rate us only third, behind Argentina and Italy. We have the Olympic vice-champion in basketball, world champion in handball, world vice-champion in rugby and the European title in women's basketball. I don't know of any other country in the world doing as well in team sport. Maybe there is a bit of jealousy...
Jean-François Béve, France

Australia's doubles pick seems pretty good considering Rafter might have been able to play a a second singles match on Sunday

J. Bobome, France

France deserved the win. It was probably the best Davis Cup final for years. It is a team sport for tennis instead of the cut-throat type in Opens. Fitzgerald is quoted as saying after a 'team' meeting it was decided to go with Hewitt-Rafter, so if that's the case, why all the instant captains? after all its only a game, and it was a great one at that.
Bob Phillips, Australia

Everyone seems to agree that Fitzgerald made a mistake by not choosing the Woodbridge-Arthurs pair. It turns out that prior to the match, the Rafter-Hewitt team had a 15-3 winning record! Australia's doubles pick seems pretty good considering that record and that Rafter might have been able to play a a second singles match on Sunday even if he had not played doubles.
J. Bobome, France

Australia really handed the cup to the French team by not fielding their best pair on Saturday.
A Gagneux, UK

Yes, of course France deserved the victory, they played better in the final. However, I really still respect the Australians and I never count them out! They are great competitors and I'm sure it's a disappointment, but they have so much to be proud of. I wish all the second-guessers wouldn't be so critical of them!
Tari Nikkila, USA

Of course, France were the better team and they played better. Australia even twisted the arm of the ITF to allow them to install the portable grass court - sickening gamesmanship that I for one did not buy and I am glad the French proved that even in Australia with a World No.1, on their chosen surface, they were still not good enough.

My hat off to the exemplerary behaviour of the crowd which was partisan but very fair and well-behaved.
John Wecheong, Hong Kong, China

Australia has an unbelievably good doubles player in Todd Woodbridge

Kathryn Beresford, UK

Yes. The French did deserve to win because the DC is a team event and the Aussies made some unbelievably bad team decisions. If Pat Rafter only had enough left in the tank for one more match, as he has claimed, he should have saved it for the possibility of a fifth rubber on Sunday.

He did not have to play on Saturday, as he has claimed. Australia has an unbelievably good doubles player in Todd Woodbridge, who they continue to sideline, and he and Hewitt or he and Arthurs, would have had at least as good a chance as Hewitt/Rafter against the fine French pairing of Pioline/Santoro.

Let's face it, they couldn't have done any worse than Hewitt/Rafter, and then Rafter still would have been able to play the fifth rubber.

In the end, the Aussies stupid hero worship of one figure - Rafter - took priority over trying to field the best team, and that cost them the cup. So, the French deserved to win.
Kathryn Beresford, UK

Mais oui...achieved with good grace in a sporting atmosphere. A weekend to remember.
Jean, Sydney via Paris

The turning point was Australian captain John Fitzgerald's disastrous decision to play Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt in the doubles

D.Danilovic, Australia

Of course France are worthy winners - and against the odds. But I am very disappointed at Australia's decision to play Rafter in the doubles - it backfired badly and left him unable to play singles. That tactical error has soured the end of Pat Rafter's career.
L Jones, Australia

Wayne Arthurs should not be playing. It should be Pat. Pat would get the crowd going and at the same time, winning the game. Rafter I believe would be too good for Nicolas Escude.
Braydon Storm, Australia

Congratulations to the French for their Davis Cup triumph. They fully deserved it and were the better team overall. However, I believe the turning point was Australian captain John Fitzgerald's disastrous decision to play Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt in the doubles.

Given that they have the best doubles player in history in Todd Woodbridge (20-2 win-loss record in Davis Cup speaks for itself!), and Rafter having a very suspect arm which probably required rest after the singles, the decision lacked any sense.

As it turned out, they lost the doubles convincingly and Rafter sustained a re-occurence of the arm injury, meaning Wayne Arthurs had to play the deciding singles, where he is far less reliable than in the doubles. A very costly tactical blunder for the Aussies.
D.Danilovic, Australia