PARIS (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain retained a six-point lead at the top of Ligue 1 after a labored 3-0 home win over Toulouse on Friday.
The defending champion dominated the first half but it took until the 35th minute to open the scoring.
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PSG's Lucas Beraldo celebrates after scoring during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PSG's Joao Neves celebrates after scoring during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PSG's Warren Zaire-Emery, on the ground, celebrates after scoring during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PSG players celebrate after a goal during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PSG's Bradley Barcola in action sin front of Toulouse's Aron Donnum during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
Young Portuguese midfielder João Neves spun to meet a cross from the right and struck a superb half volley from just outside the box.
Lucas Beraldo got a second with six minutes remaining when he pounced on loose ball and fired home.
Vitinha made it 3-0 in stoppage time when he showed fine footwork inside the box to finish off a quick counterattack.
The scoreline was harsh on Toulouse, which came into the game in a more even second half.
Only Vitinha’s last-gasp tackle stopped Zakaria Aboukhlal from equalizing after 69 minutes and then Shavy Babicka blazed over from close range a minute later when he should have hit the target.
The win was a confidence boost for Luis Enrique’s side ahead of next Tuesday’s Champions League encounter at Bayern Munich.
PSG lies in 25th place in the 36-team Champions League table with one win in four matches and outside the playoff spots.
The win came immediately after second-placed Monaco beaten Brest 3-2 to briefly close the gap at the top to three points.
Brest, which faces Barcelona next week in the Champions League, turned in another inconsistent French league performance and not the sparkling form it has shown in Europe.
Brest has struggled in Ligue 1, where it remains 12th, but shone with three wins from four in its first ever Champions League campaign.
It was behind after just five minutes on Friday when Maghnes Akliouche scored with a superb airborne volley, and 2-0 down after 24 minutes thanks to Aleksandr Golovin.
The Russian striker seized on a poor pass just outside the Brest penalty area and his low shot was perfectly placed to sneak in off the post and give him his first goal in nine league appearances.
On-loan Brighton striker Abdallah Sima used his 1.88-meter frame to outjump the Monaco defense four minutes into the second half and cut the deficit but Akliouche restored Monaco’s two-goal cushion when he brilliantly finished a quick counterattack in stoppage time.
Ludovic Ajorque got a second for Brest in the sixth minute of added time but it was not enough in a second half most notable for the red card shown to Brest coach Éric Roy.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
PSG's Lucas Beraldo celebrates after scoring during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PSG's Joao Neves celebrates after scoring during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PSG's Warren Zaire-Emery, on the ground, celebrates after scoring during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PSG players celebrate after a goal during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
PSG's Bradley Barcola in action sin front of Toulouse's Aron Donnum during the French League One soccer match between Paris Saint-Germain and Toulouse at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, France, Sunday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)
MALAGA, Spain (AP) — The last man to face — and beat — Rafael Nadal in professional tennis, 80th-ranked Botic van de Zandschulp, converted his 10th match point Friday to finally close out a 6-4, 6-7 (12), 6-3 victory over Daniel Altmaier and help the Netherlands reach its first Davis Cup final by sweeping Germany.
Tallon Griekspoor, who is ranked 40th, sealed the 2-0 win for the Dutch in the best-of-three-match semifinal by hitting 25 aces and coming back to defeat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-7 (4), 7-5, 6-4. When it ended, appropriately, on an ace, Griekspoor shut his eyes, dropped to his knees and spread his arms wide.
“We have been talking about this for two, three years,” Griekspoor said. “We believed in ourselves so much. We always felt like this was possible. To do it now feels unbelievable.”
The other semifinal is Saturday, with No. 1-ranked Jannik Sinner and defending champion Italy taking on Australia. The championship will be decided Sunday.
“We don’t have that top 5 player. We don’t that top 10 player. We don’t have that top 15 player,” Dutch captain Paul Harhuuis said. “But it’s a team effort. … So proud of these guys.”
In Friday's opener, van de Zandschulp was up a set and just a point away from leading 5-2 in the second when Altmaier began playing more aggressively and interacting more with the German fans, yelling and throwing uppercuts or raising his arms after key points. In the tiebreaker, Altmaier managed to save five match points before converting his own fourth set point to extend the contest.
But van de Zandschulp — who upset four-time Grand Slam champion Carlos Alcaraz at the U.S. Open — quickly moved out front in the final set, even if he eventually needed five more match points in the last game before serving it out.
“At some point, I didn’t know what to do any more on the match points,” van de Zandschulp said. “I had the toughest match of my life on Tuesday (against Nadal), so everything that comes next is maybe a little bit easier.”
In the quarterfinals, van de Zandschulp outplayed Nadal for a 6-4, 6-4 result that marked the end of the 22-time Grand Slam champion’s career because the Netherlands went on to eliminate Spain 2-1.
The 38-year-old Nadal announced last month that the Davis Cup would be his final event before retiring.
Presumably because people purchased tickets ahead of time with plans to watch Nadal compete in the semifinals, there were hundreds of unoccupied blue or gray seats surrounding the indoor hard court at the Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martina Carpena in southern Spain on Friday.
Now truly a neutral site, the place was not nearly as loud and rowdy as on Tuesday, although there were shouts of “Vamos, Rafa!” that drew laughter while van de Zandschulp played the 88th-ranked Altmaier.
It took Griekspoor more than 75 minutes and nearly two full sets to figure out how to break No. 43 Struff and then did it twice in a row — to lead 6-5 in the second set, and then go up 1-0 in the third. That was plenty, because Griekspoor saved the only two break points he faced.
The Netherlands hadn’t been to the semifinals since 2001. The Germans — whose best current player, two-time major finalist Alexander Zverev, is not on the team in Malaga — have won three Davis Cups, but not since 1993, when 1991 Wimbledon champion Michael Stich led them to the title.
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
The Netherlands' Davis Cup team celebrates their qualification for the final after defeating Germany at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor competes against Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff returns the ball to Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
CORRECTS NAME GERMAN PLAYER - Daniel Altmaier returns the ball to Netherlands' Botic Van De Zandschulp during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
CORRECTS NAME GERMAN PLAYER - Netherlands' Botic Van De Zandschulp returns the ball to Germany's Daniel Altmaier during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Tennis spectators attend the Davis Cup match between Germany's Daniel Altmaier and Netherlands' Botic Van De Zandschulp at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
CORRECTS NAME GERMAN PLAYER - Netherlands' Botic Van De Zandschulp returns the ball to Germany's Daniel Altmaier during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
CORRECTS NAME GERMAN PLAYER - Netherlands' Botic Van De Zandschulp returns the ball to Germany's Daniel Altmaier during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
CORRECTS NAME GERMAN PLAYER Germany's Daniel Altmaier celebrates a point against Netherlands' Botic Van De Zandschulp during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor celebrates a set against Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor celebrates a set against Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor serves to Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
CORRECTS NAME GERMAN PLAYER - Netherlands' Botic Van De Zandschulp returns the ball to Germany's Daniel Altmaier during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor is congratulated by teammates after winning Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Netherlands' Tallon Griekspoor celebrates after winning against Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff during the Davis Cup semifinal at the Martin Carpena Sports Hall in Malaga, southern Spain, on Friday, Nov. 22, 2024. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
