Holders Spain knocked out by France

Defending champions Spain were knocked out of the Davis Cup by France in the quarter-finals yesterday.

France sealed their place in the semi-finals after doubles pairing Michael Llodra and Julien Benneteau beat Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 7-6 (7-5).

That gave the French an unassailable 3-0 lead in the best-of-five rubber contest after the hosts won both Friday's singles.

Spain, without Rafael Nadal, had left themselves with a mountain to climb after Friday's two singles defeats as France's decision to play the match on the lightning fast indoor court at Clermont Ferrand paid dividends.

Spain, champions for the last two years, went into the tie without world number one Nadal who is resting after winning the French Open and Wimbledon, while the French were also without their top player Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who is suffering from a knee injury.

The French went 2-0 up after Gael Monfils and Michael Llodra beat clay specialists David Ferrer and Fernando Verdasco respectively, with Llodra and Benneteau wrapping up the tie in yesterday's doubles.

That leaves today's reverse singles to be played with only honour at stake.

In the semi-finals France will face either Russia or Argentina, who are fighting for a last four ticket in their quarter-final in Moscow this weekend.

Argentina have taken a 2-1 lead over Russia in their quarter-final tie after Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos beat Nikolay Davydenko and Igor Kunitsyn 7-6 (9-7) 6-4 6-7 (3-5) 6-1.

France, who last won the Davis Cup in 2001, will play either of those teams at home on September 17-19.

This is the first time France has made it to this stage of the Davis Cup since 2004, when they lost to Spain.

Llodra and Benneteau raced away with the first two sets and were on target for an easy win, leading 4-2 in the third set.

Despite a match point in the ensuing tiebreak the Spanish held firm to take the score to 2-1.

Invigorated by that comeback the French duo made Llodra and Benneteau dig deep for victory, which they achieved by holding their nerve to win the fourth set tiebreak.

Other quarter-finals: Croatia vs Serbia 1-2; Russia vs Argentina 1-2; Chile vs Czech Republic 0-3.