France took command of their Davis Cup clash against Brazil amid controversy at the end of the second singles match on Saturday between the country's second best player Arthur Fils and the Brazilian number one Thiago Seyboth Wild.
While serving for a 5-4 lead in the second set, umpire Timo Janzen judged that the Brazilian had touched the ball as it flew out.
The call gave Fils the point to take him to 5-4 and despite Seyboth Wild and his captain Jaime Oncins pleading that no contact had been made, Janzen held firm and Fils stepped up a few minutes later to serve for the match.
At 30-30, with Fils showing signs of fragility, Janzen stopped the fifth point of the game believing that Seyboth Wild had challenged a first serve. When the video review showed the ball to have landed inside the line, he announced match point for the local hero.
Despite more pleading from Seyboth Wild and Oncins that no request for a challenge had been made, Janzen refused to relent. Fils terminated the late frenzy with his 11th ace of the match to register a 6-1, 6-4 victory.
"I thought Thiago had said something," said Fils after the game. "But I wasn't sure and I was ready to replay the point but the umpire said: 'Match point.' So I carried on."
Drama
With Seyboth Wild storming off the court, the flurry left the 3,000 partisans pouring out of the Palais des Sports in good cheer.
Earlier, the French number one Ugo Humbert brought his country the first point of the first round qualifier with a 7-5, 6-3 win over the rising Brazilian Joao Fonseca.
The 18-year-old followed up his victory at the end-of-season tournament for the best players under-21 on the ATP circuit with a run through the qualifying rounds at the Australian Open into the main draw.
In Melbourne at the first Grand Slam tournament of the season, Fonseca saw off the world number nine Andrey Rublev in five sets but on Saturday in Orléans, western France, Humbert, ranked 15th, was too savvy.
"I love to play indoors," said Humbert. "I returned really well and I thought it was the key to the win."
Fonseca, who moved into the top 100 after his exploits in Australia concurred. "He played better than me. Of course, I'm frustrated that I lost but I played well."
On Sunday, France, 10-time winners of the men's team competition, will clinch the tie if the home pair claim the doubles match.
Should Brazil triumph, the singles matches will follow to decide the victor.
