LYON, France (AP)—France reached its first Davis Cup final in eight years after securing an insurmountable 3-0 lead over Argentina by winning the doubles on Saturday.
Michael Llodra and Arnaud Clement, playing together in Davis Cup for the first time in more than two years, defeated Eduardo Schwank and Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 in 2 1/2 hours to decide the best-of-five tie.
The French will face either the Czech Republic or Serbia in the Dec. 3-5 final.
France, which routed defending champion 5-0 in the quarterfinals, won the last of its nine Davis Cup titles in 2001 and lost to Russia at home in the 2002 final.
All of the French players enjoyed a lap of honor on the indoor hard-court of the Palais des Sports and were joined in their celebrations by replacement Richard Gasquet and the injured Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Julien Benneteau.
“I’m so proud, they are here, all together. All those seven guys were key elements in our successes,” France captain Guy Forget said. “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 trophy).”
On Friday, Llodra put France ahead with a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over Juan Monaco then Gael Monfils served 27 aces in topping David Nalbandian 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Llodra and Clement quickly found back a sound understanding on the court after settling a personal dispute earlier this year.
“We got together with my mate Arnaud,” the 30-year-old Llodra said. “We are like wine, we get better with age.”
Clement, 32, played his first Davis Cup match since he and Llodra beat twins Mike and Bob Bryan in a 4-1 loss against the United States in the 2008 competition.
“This is fabulous,” Clement said. “We played good on our return games and we never let them go, even in difficult moments. And with the help of our fans, we put a huge pressure on them.”
Llodra and Clement got off to a good start against the U.S. Open semifinalists, with Zeballos forced to save a break point with an ace on his first service game.
The French pair broke for a 4-2 lead after Clement hit a powerful forehand volley and forced an error from Zeballos with a passing shot. But Clement lost his composure in the next game, doublefaulting twice to lose his serve at love and draw loud chants from Argentine fans.
The French made the decisive break in the 10th game after Clement earned two set points with a perfect forehand lob before Llodra wrapped up the set with a forehand pass.
Llodra won a spectacular point in the second game of the second set, showing great reflexes at the net to hit the ball five times in a row and give France a 2-0 lead.
But the French players failed to build on the momentum and were immediately broken back after losing five consecutive points on their serve, a disappointing streak that prompted some harsh words from Forget at the changeover.
Both teams then held their serve until the 12th game when Llodra and Clement earned three break points with great returns. Clement converted the third one with a winning backhand pass to give France a 2-set lead.
In the last set, Llodra was handed two break points in the sixth game with a backhand return at Schwank’s feet before the Argentine player showed nerves by missing an easy backhand to give the French a 4-2 lead. Llodra served out the match on his first opportunity with a winning serve.