France, Serbia Advance To Davis Cup Semis
FRANCE 3, GREAT BRITAIN 0
Kindarena, Rouen, France (Indoor Clay)
Julien Benneteau and Nicolas Mahut overcame Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot 7-6(7), 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 on Saturday to secure France's place in the Davis Cup semi-finals.
The French duo gave Les Bleus an unassailable 3-0 lead in their quarter-final tie with Great Britain, surging into the semis for the fifth time in eight years. They advanced when a Murray backhand volley clipped the tape off a Mahut lob, improving to 6-1 in their last seven home ties.
Despite the absence of stalwarts Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Gael Monfils and Richard Gasquet, France dropped just one set in reaching the last four, including straight-set victories for Lucas Pouille and Jeremy Chardy on Friday. Seeking a 10th Davis Cup crown, Yannick Noah's side will face Serbia next.
Great Britain, meanwhile, failed to reach the semi-finals for the first time in three years. The 2015 champions were without the services of World No. 1 Andy Murray, who is recovering from an injured right elbow.
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SERBIA 3, SPAIN 0Aleksandar Nikolic Arena, Belgrade, Serbia (Indoor Hard)
Nenad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki rewarded the boisterous home fans in Belgrade, giving Serbia an unassailable 3-0 lead over Spain on Saturday.
Zimonjic and Troicki prevailed in five sets over Pablo Carreno Busta and Marc Lopez, 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-0, 4-6, 6-2. They fired 53 total winners, including 14 aces, while converting six of 13 break opportunities.
For former World No. 1 and 40-year-old Zimonjic, it was his 30th doubles victory in Davis Cup play. "I'm extremely happy," he said. The atmosphere was great and we knew it would be a difficult match. They're great players, a great team.
"I'm proud of all of us. We were amazing the whole week. We had a great atmosphere and we worked really hard."
Serbia will next travel to France for their semi-final tie in September. The only previous meeting between the two nations was in the 2010 final, when the Serbians claimed their first Davis Cup crown.
"He had pressure and he put himself in to play," said Troicki about Zimonjic. "He did a great job. I want to congratulate him for winning again. And I want to thank him for playing with me."