体坛英语新闻：Mauresmo decides to withdraw from captaincy of French tennis team

PARIS, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Former women's tennis world No. 1 Amelie Mauresmo on Thursday decided to end her role of France's captain at the Davis Cup, while turning her focus to coaching the Frenchman Lucas Pouille.

Mauresmo, the two-time Grand Slam singles titles winner, was set to take over the captaincy from Yannick Noah after this year's Davis Cup final, where France lost to Croatia 3-1. However, she finally decided to quit the position.

The French Tennis Federation (FFT) announced later in a statement that its National Technical Director Pierre Cherret has taken the responsibility of proposing a new captain to the Executive Committee.

The new captain will also be responsible for coaching the men's team at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020 and taking care of young players' courses in terms of the Paris Olympics in 2024.

FFT also expressed its support and encouragement to Mauresmo's decision, which it thought also served the interests of French tennis.

"It's important and logical for Lucas, after his fruitful collaboration with Emmanuel Planque, to look for the person most likely to continue his development," said Cherret, adding that he would soon make his proposal for a new captain to the Executive Committee.