(CNN) -- France have taken a 1-0 lead over Serbia in the Davis Cup final, after Gael Monfils silenced a partisan home crowd by thrashing Janko Tipsarevic in the opening singles rubber on Friday.
World number 12 Monfils was in superb form as he cruised to a 6-1 7-6 6-0 win over an out-of-touch Tipsarevic on the had indoor court of the Belgrade Arena.
The victory puts France well on course to secure a 10th Davis Cup title ahead of the second singles rubber between Serb No.1 Novak Djokovic and French No.2 Gilles Simon.
Speaking to France 3 TV, Monfils said: "I got into the match straight away and that helped settle me. CNN
