 Llodra (l) and Clement were paired for the first time since 2008
France took an unassailable 3-0 lead over Argentina in Lyon to secure their place in the Davis Cup final. Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement beat Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos 6-4 7-5 6-3 in the doubles to kill off Argentina's hopes in the semi-final. Singles wins for Gael Monfils and Llodra had put France 2-0 up on Friday. In the other semi, the Czech Republic lead Serbia 2-1 after Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek beat Novak Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic 3-6 6-1 6-4 6-1. "This is fabulous. I am with my mates in the Davis Cup final, now with my mate Arnaud, I'm so happy," said 30-year-old Llodra, who won the opening rubber 7-5 4-6 7-5 6-3 against Juan Monaco. "We are like wine, we get better with age."  | 606: DEBATE |
The ecstatic French, without the services of their injured number one Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, enjoyed a lap of honour on the indoor hard-court of the Palais des Sports. "I'm so proud," reflected France captain Guy Forget after the triumph over Argentina, who were minus their injured 2009 US Open winner Juan Martin del Potro. "But there is another tie to play, we have such a talented team, and we can't be satisfied with a runner-up place. We want to win [the final from 3-5 December]." Monfils, a 6-4 2-6 6-4 6-3 winner against David Nalbandian on Friday, will play Monaco on Sunday, while Llodra takes on Nalbandian in the final dead rubber. Day one between Serbia and the Czech Republic had ended all-square in Belgrade. Stepanek beat Viktor Troicki, a late replacement for world number two Djokovic who was ruled out with gastroenteritis, while Janko Tipsarevic saw off Berdych 7-5 6-2 2-6 7-5 (7-5). But despite Djokovic's return to the court, just four days after he lost the US Open final to Rafael Nadal, Serbia found themselves behind. "We can't allow ourselves to get mentally down and think about what happened," said Djokovic, who will have to beat world number seven Berdych - the man who defeated him in the semi-finals at Wimbledon this summer - to keep his country in the tie. "It's going to be very tough, Berdych is having his best year on the tour," added Djokovic. If Djokovic can win, then the final rubber between Stepanek and Tipsarevic will decide who progresses to face the French.  Zimonjic (l) and Djokovic struggled in front of their home crowd |
In Astana, Kazakhstan duo Andrey Golubev and Yuriy Schukin's 6-4 6-3 6-3 victory over Yves Allegro and Stanislas Wawrinka consigned Switzerland to relegation from the elite World Group. With the home side now leading 3-0 following Friday singles wins for Golubev and Mikhail Kukushkin, there is no way back for the Swiss, who are without world number three Roger Federer as he rests after a busy North American hard-court season. The USA edged into a 2-1 lead over Colombia after Mardy Fish and John Isner defeated Colombia's Robert Farah and Carlos Salamanca 6-4 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3 in Bogota. The winner of the tie will remain in the World Group, with Fish slated to play Santiago Giraldo and Sam Querrey faces Alejandro Falla in Sunday's reverse singles. Australia advanced their aim to return to the elite group of 16 nations by taking a 2-1 lead over Belgium. Lleyton Hewitt and Paul Hanley saw off Olivier Rochus and Ruben Bemelmans 6-1 6-2 6-4 in Cairns. Germany sealed their World Group survival and dashed South Africa's hopes of promotion when Andreas Beck and Christopher Kas triumphed 6-4 3-6 6-3 6-4 over Rik de Voest and Wesley Moodie. South Africa, who also lost both Friday's singles rubbers, can only play for pride in Sunday's final singles rubbers. Sweden are on course to remain in the top tier after Simon Aspelin and Robert Lindstedt fought back from two sets down to defeat Simone Bolelli and Potito Starace 5-7 6-7 (0-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-3 7-5 in four hours and 26 minutes in Lidkoping. The Swedes lead 2-1, with Robin Soderling fancied to wrap up victory for his country against Potito Starace, a player 45 places below him in the rankings. The final rubber sees Sweden's Andreas Vinciguerra play Fabio Fognini. India pair Leander Paes and Mahesh Bhupathi, meanwhile, won a record 24th Davis Cup tie in a row, despatching Brazil's Bruno Soares and Marcelo Melo 6-4 7-6 (7-5) 6-1. Brazil, though, lead the tie 2-1. In Bucharest, Romania cannot be beaten thanks to Victor Hanescu and Horia Tecau's 6-2 6-2 6-2 win over Giovanni Lapentti and Ivan Endara.
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