LILLE, France (Reuters) – Jo-Wilfried Tsonga demolished Steve Darcis 6-3 6-2 6-1 to bring France level at 1-1 with Belgium after the first day of the Davis Cup final on Friday.

The French number one wasted several early break chances before finding his stride on the indoor harcourt of the Pierre Mauroy stadium after in-form David Goffin had given the visitors a 1-0 lead by beating Lucas Pouille 7-5 6-3 6-1.

France picked Richard Gasquet and Pierre-Hugues Herbert while Belgium chose Ruben Bemelmans and Joris De Loore for Saturday’s doubles but team captains have until one hour before the start of the match to change their line-up.

Nine-time champions France have not won the Davis Cup since 2001, losing three finals since then, while Belgium, runners-up in 2015, have never claimed the title.