France Wins Its Ninth Davis Cup

France won the Davis Cup tennis title for the ninth time today, as Nicolas Escude beat Australia’s Wayne Arthurs in the deciding match of the best-of-five final.

Escude defeated Arthurs, playing as a late replacement for the injured Pat Rafter, 7-6 (3), 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, to secure a 3-2 victory. World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt earlier beat Sebastien Grosjean in straight sets to tie the match at 2-2.

France overcame the challenge of playing on grass--its least favorite surface--to win its first title since 1996. Australia, a 27-time champion, beat France in the 1999 final and lost to Spain last year.

Each team won one of the opening singles matches Friday and France won the doubles Saturday.