Richard Gasquet (right) and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga fired France into the Davis Cup final for the first time since 2010 when they gave the hosts a 3-0 lead against holders Czech Republic yesterday.

After dropping the first set the French duo beat Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek 6-7 6-4 7-6 6-1 to earn victory with a day to spare at Roland Garros.

Les Bleus will face either Switzerland at home or Italy away in the final.

Italy kept alive their hopes of reaching the final yesterday with doubles duo Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli winning a five-set doubles rubber against Swiss pair Stanislas Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli.

Switzerland lead the tie 2-1 going into today’s reverse singles.

Gasquet gave France the first point on Friday by crushing Berdych before Tsonga doubled the tally also with a straight-sets victory over Lukas Rosol.

Captain Arnaud Clement made a switch, electing to pair Tsonga and Gasquet rather than Gael Monfils and Julien Benneteau, and it worked a treat.

Berdych, who looked well below par on Friday, was not much better in the doubles and was the weak spot in the Czech pair.

Just before Tsonga served for the second set, Stepanek left the court to receive medical treatment but the hosts were clearly unfazed as the world number 12 wrapped it up with an ace.

A Berdych double fault handed France a break in the first game of the third set and the hosts were 3-0 up after another break but a brilliant Berdych forehand winner down the line helped the Czechs pull one back.

In an another momentum shift, France went from 4-2 up with a break point for 5-2 to 5-4 down despite Stepanek receiving treatment on his right hip.

However, they won the tiebreak 7-5 after recovering from a 4-2 deficit and it proved too high a mountain to climb for the Czechs whose hopes of a third consecutive title evaporated in a one-sided fourth set.

Trailing 2-0 after Roger Federer and Wawrinka both won Friday’s singles matches, Fognini and Bolelli had no margin for error but produced a battling display in front of a sea of Swiss fans in the Palexpo Arena to win 7-5 3-6 5-7 6-3 6-2.