Doubles duo Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Michael Llodra kept France's Davis Cup hopes alive on Saturday when they beat Spanish duo Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 to give the visitors their first point of the semifinal tie.
France needed to win after Rafael Nadal cast off fatigue and his US Open final loss to Novak Djokovic to thrash Richard Gasquet in Friday's opening rubber and David Ferrer then defeated Gilles Simon.
Four-time champion Spain needed a win in Saturday's doubles at the Cordoba bullring to ensure its place in the final.
But the Spanish pair was given no chance by Llodra and Tsonga, winning just three games in the tie.
Lopez and Verdasco had won three of their four previous Davis Cup ties with their last defeat coming in last year's quarterfinals against France, and against Llodra, as the French helped themselves to a 5-0 whitewash of Spain.
Meanwhile in Belgrade, Serbian double team of Viktor Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic defeated Juan Ignacio Chela and Juan Monaco 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-2 too keep the host's hope alive. Playing without top-ranked Novak Djokovic, Argentina had taken a commanding 2-0 when it won both the singles rubbers on Friday.
After Viktor Troicki lost his opening singles to David Nalbandian Juan Martin del Potro beat Janko Tipsarevic 7-5, 6-3, 6-4 to give Argentina a 2-0 lead. Argentina needs one more win to reach its first final since 2008. Serbia has never made a comeback after trailing 0-2 after the opening singles.
del Potro won a battle of long rallies against U.S. Open quarterfinalist Tipsarevic, finishing off the 2 hour 31 minute match with an ace.
Serbia team captain Bogdan Obradovic left open the possibility of Djokovic teaming up with Nenad Zimonjic to try to keep Serbia alive in the best-of-five series. “Novak is going to practice a little, get used to the surface and we will see,” Obradovic said. Argentina is looking to win its first Davis Cup semifinal away from home.
The results (semifinals) : At Cordoba: Spain 2 France 1 (Feliciano Lopez & Fernando Verdasco lost to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga & Michael Llodra 6-1, 6-2, 6-0).
At Belgrade: Serbia 1 Argentina 2 (Juan Martin Del Potro bt Janko Tipsarevic 7-5, 6-3, 6-4; Viktor Troicki & Nenad Zimonjic bt Juan Ignacio Chela & Juan Monaco 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-2). — Agencies