French Davis Cup captain Arnaud Clement is leaving himself the possibility of changing the line-up for the team following the singles on Friday.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was picked for the first singles, as expected, with Clement choosing Monfils instead of Richard Gasquet for the second position. The entire French team is ranking in the Top 30.
"Gael showed during the preparation that he was very fit. Well, it's also true for Richard and the others," said Clement. "You need to make a choice at one point. It was a personal choice. I spoke with all of them. They were all ready to go. But I chose these players. There's no specific and obvious reason."
Tsonga will take on Stanislas Wawrinka, while Monfils will play Roger Federer, with neither the favorite to win. If the matches go long, Clement will look at substituing Gasquet or Julien Benneteau for the reverse singles.
"We'll see how tired the players are. After Friday, there might be changes for the singles on Sunday," he said. "It's really a luxury I have as a captain of this team. So if I need to use that, I will."
Gasquet and Benneteau have been nominated by the French as the doubles team for the tie.