BELGRADE, Serbia(AP) Gael Monfils cruised to a 6-1, 7-6 (4), 6-0 victory Friday over Janko Tipsarevic to give France a 1-0 lead over Serbia in the Davis Cup final.
Tipsarevic double-faulted twice in losing the opening game in front of his hometown crowd in a soldout Belgrade Arena, and wasn't able to stay in rallies with the Frenchman.
The hero of the semifinal win over the Czech Republic recovered somewhat in the second set. But he failed to convert two break points at 1-1 and 3-3, and Monfils won the tiebreaker.
Another double fault by Tipsarevic gave the opening game of the third set to Monfils, who cruised to victory. Tipsarevic made 38 unforced errors to 14 by Monfils, who never lost serve.
Later Friday, Novak Djokovic will play Gilles Simon.