France qualifies for Davis Cup semis

France became the first country to earn a semifinal berth in the premier team event in men's tennis.

Benneteau and Llodra defeated Spain's Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-5) to give France a 3-0 advantage in the best-of-five series of quarterfinal matches.
Llodra and Gael Monfils had won their singles matches to open the competition on Friday. The French hosted the series in Clermont-Ferrand.

Spain, which was without world No. 1 Rafael Nadal, had not lost to the French in Davis Cup play since 1923. Spain leads the all-time series 5-2.

Argentina and Croatia, meanwhile, both took a 2-1 lead in their quarterfinal matchups.

Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos of Argentina defeated Russians Nikolay Davydenko and Igor Kunitsyn in Moscow 7-6 (9-7), 6-4, 6-7 (3-7), 6-1.

Sunday's singles matches will send Leonardo Mayer against Nikolay Davydenko and David Nalbandian against Mikhail Youzhny. A win by either Mayer or Nalbandian would put the Argentines in the semifinals against France.

Croatia, hosting the quarterfinals in Split, took its 2-1 lead thanks to a 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 win by Janko Tipsarevic and Nenad Zimonjic over Serbia's Marin Cilic and Ivan Dodig.

The survivor of that series will play either Chile or the Czech Republic in the semifinals. The doubles match between those countries was scheduled for later Saturday in Coquimbo, Chile, where the Czechs held a 2-0 lead.

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