It’s Doubles Jeopardy for U.S. : Davis Cup: Forget and Leconte score an inspired victory against Flach and Seguso. U.S. must win both singles matches today or lose title to France.

The country that has given us the Statue of Liberty, Brigitte Bardot and Bordelaise sauce looks as if it is about to take something back.

That would be the Davis Cup, which is one French victory from getting crated up and sent to Paris for a pleasant yearlong stay.

On a gray Saturday in a stadium on the banks of the Rhone River, the U.S. doubles team of Ken Flach and Robert Seguso sank like a leaky boat, 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 6-2, capsized by Guy Forget and the suddenly revived Henri Leconte.

For Flach and Seguso, it was a landmark defeat, their first loss to a French team after seven victories. It could also turn out to be a pretty big loss for the United States, which trails, 2-1, and must sweep both singles matches to retain its Davis Cup title.

It doesn’t look too good. No team has come from a 2-1 deficit to win a final since Australia defeated the United States in 1964. The last time the United States turned the trick in a final was 1902 against Britain.

Even Flach failed when he tried to make the odds appear slightly more attractive.

“Well, there’s a good chance,” he said, “but I wouldn’t put my house on it.”

All that separates the French from their first Davis Cup title in 59 years today is Pete Sampras, who plays the second Davis Cup match of his career. The first one was Friday when Leconte beat him in three sets.

This time, Sampras will play Forget, to be followed by Andre Agassi against Leconte, which the United States hopes will be a match that means something other than an exhibition.

“Hopefully we can get to two-all, if Pete can come up big,” Flach said.

Flach and Seguso came up petit. To be fair, not all of it was their fault. Seguso was broken in the first game, a misfortune that propeled the U.S. team spiraling downward and rocketed the emotionally charged French even higher.

“We knew then that it was going to be a long day,” Flach said. “The bad start is what did it, probably cost us the match.”

So did that annoying French habit of depositing unhittable balls in all areas of the court. Forget and Leconte finished with 50 winners, 23 more than Flach and Seguso, and also won 23 of 25 points at the net.

Other than that, what went wrong? Well, that isn’t the right question, Flach said.

“What went right?” he said. “I don’t know. I think we did all we possibly could. It wasn’t us, it was them. You have to give them credit.”

Flach and Seguso did not even get into the match until the third set, when both Leconte and Forget started serving more like humans than ball machines.

The Americans did not have a break-point chance until the fourth game of the third set and up to then had won only nine points facing French serves.

Leconte successfully dictated the match, as he had when he wiped out Sampras. If it wasn’t an airborne Leconte ripping a volley cross-court, it was Leconte taking a wide serve and hitting a winner down the line.

The U.S. team did not lob when it had both Leconte and Forget at the net, left uncovered service returns down the line when that was the only direction the ball could be hit and almost always went for blasting passing shots when finesse might have been the better strategy.

It’s possible none of it would have made any difference anyway. After Flach and Seguso closed out the third set by breaking Forget, aided by a key double fault, there was a 10-minute timeout called.

While the French regrouped, Flach and Seguso could not capitalize on their momentum. Part of the reason why was the lift Forget and Leconte received from the crowd that once again stomped, cheered, sang, did the Wave and interrupted play several times.

“The emotion was so high for them it was really hard to overcome,” Flach said.

The French got the only break they needed to go up, 3-2, in the fourth set. At 30-30 in the fourth set, Leconte sent Flach’s serve cross-court for a winner and break point, which Leconte then converted by hitting a return at Seguso’s feet and forcing him to bat a forehand wide.

It was Seguso’s turn to be broken next, hastened by his fifth double fault, and the French held a 5-2 lead. Leconte served it out on the first match point, then went into a repeat performance of Friday night’s post-match celebration by leaping into the arms of captain Yannick Noah.

“It seemed as if I had not left the court at all,” said Leconte, who helped keep his Davis Cup record with Forget perfect at 8-0.

It was only the second Davis Cup defeat in 12 matches for Flach and Seguso, who came into the final ranked as the No. 2 doubles team in the world.

But what does that say for Leconte and Forget? Noah was asked if he thought Flach and Seguso were bothered because they had to play two left-handers.

“Maybe,” Noah said, “but what bothered them the most was that (Leconte and Forget) played super matches.”