France knocks out Spain in Davis Cup quarters
LONDON (AP) – Spain’s bid for three successive Davis Cup titles was ended Saturday by a team it hadn’t lost to in 87 years. France grabbed an unassailable 3-0 lead in their quarterfinal when Michael Llodra and Julien Benneteau beat Fernando Verdasco and Feliciano Lopez 6-1, 6-2, 6-7 (6), 7-6 (5) in Clermont-Ferrand.
“It’s magical,” France captain Guy Forget said. “I hope it’s just the start of a long story.”
The Czech Republic, whitewashed by Spain in last year’s final, also set up a home semifinal at Chile’s expense with a day to spare.
Meanwhile, Serbia regained the lead against Croatia 2-1 in Split, and Argentina continued to defy the odds by leading Russia 2-1 in Moscow.
Even without top-ranked Rafael Nadal, Spain arrived in France packed with players in the top 25, three of whom had played in the last two finals.
But after a first day in which Gael Monfils and Michael Llodra produced stunning singles wins, France kept on surprising when Llodra and Benneteau – playing only their second cup doubles together – humbled Verdasco and Lopez in the first two sets and edged the fourth.
“This is a sad day for all the team,” Spain captain Albert Costa said. “When you win, you feel like you’re in heaven. When you lose, you feel like going to hell.”
Llodra, playing Davis Cup singles and doubles for the first time in two years, said he woke up with tired legs but felt inspired.
“When you wear the jersey of the France team, you can’t afford to feel sorry for yourself,” he said. “Today, I felt great when serving.”
France will play its first semifinals since 2004 at home in September against either Russia or Argentina. Win that, and France has a high chance of hosting the final in December.
“I hope they’ll have the same self-belief in September,” Forget said. “Hopefully, this year or the following year, we can win that trophy again because I think they have the potential to do it.”
After another unexpected doubles result in Moscow, Argentina had high hopes of a first win in Russia and ending the Russians’ 17-tie winning streak at home since 1996, the third-best in cup history.
The first-time cup pairing of Horacio Zeballos and Eduardo Schwank beat Russia’s new pair of Nikolay Davydenko and Igor Kunitsyn 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1 to put Argentina ahead 2-1.
“We have a small hope for tomorrow and it’s going to be very difficult,” Davydenko said.
Croatia could say the same after losing the doubles as expected to Serbia and falling behind 2-1 in Split.
World No. 1 doubles player Nenad Zimonjic and Janko Tipsarevic won 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 even though Croatia tried to bolster its pair by adding Marin Cilic with Ivan Dodig.
Cilic will try to keep the tie alive in the first reverse singles today against No. 2-ranked Novak Djokovic, whom he hasn’t beaten in four previous matches.
The Czech Republic will await the winner, after clinching a win over Chile by going up 3-0.
Lukas Dlouhy and Jan Hajek beat Jorge Aguilar and Nicolas Massu 7-6 (3), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, lifting the Czechs into successive semifinals for the first time since 1986.