France ended the first day of the Davis Cup final on level terms with Belgium after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga recorded a straight-sets dismissal over Steve Darcis.
The French number one raced to a 6-3 6-2 6-1 success over his Belgian counterpart in one hour and 46 minutes to leave the match evenly balanced heading into Saturday's doubles on paper, although Sky Bet make France 2/7 favourites with Belgium 11/4.
France, who are hosting the final in Lille, began the showpiece encounter as favourites, boasting two top 20 singles players while Belgium are heavily reliant on the in-form David Goffin.
Goffin produced an emphatic display in the opening singles rubber to hand the visitors the early advantage in the encounter.
The world number seven, who reached the final of the ATP Finals at The O2 last week, stormed to a 7-5 6-3 6-1 victory over Lucas Pouille despite a fervent atmosphere at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Goffin needed just under two hours to give Belgium the opening point and never faced a single break point hitting 21 winners and 12 aces during the match.
France, under the leadership of Yannick Noah, are bidding to claim their first Davis Cup crown since 2001 while Belgium have never won the competition and last reached the final in 2015, when they lost to Great Britain.
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