French captain Arnaud Clement said that he is not playing Richard Gasquet in the first day of singles against Great Britain despite his recent success because the Frenchman needs to rest. Gasquet reached the semifinals at Wimbledon, upsetting Stan Wawrinka in five sets before falling to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

Playing in Queen's Club on grass, Gilles Simon won the opening singles match in straight sets over James Ward. Andy Murray defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (also in straight sets) to even the tie.

Simon, Tsonga and Gasquet are ranked No. 11, No. 12 and No. 13 respectively.

“They are very close [in the world rankings] and Richard did need a little more time for recovery after his semifinal last week,” Clement told DavisCup.com. “Gilles and Jo have had more time to recover for the tie on grass. They are all very close, so for me it was a logical choice.”

Gasquet may play the doubles on Sunday with Nicolas Mahut. The British doubles team is Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot, but Andy Murray may step in. Murray also reached the Wimbledon semifinals, but he played singles on Day 1.

British captain Leon Smith said his players should be able to get through the tie physically.  “There will be some aches and pains and a bit of tiredness from a long grass-court season,” he said. “Midway through this year, it’s demanding for them. But you will see no lack of desire, effort and passion to try and win the matches.”

Last year, Britain lost to Italy 3-2 in the quarterfinals, while France fell to Switzerland in the final. Britain is hoping to reach the semifinals for the first time since 1981.