Davis Cup semi-finals: France and Switzerland get closer to final showdown

Paris France and Switzerland both moved to within one point of the Davis Cup final on Friday when they swept the opening two singles rubbers in their respective semifinalsIn Geneva Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka both won to put Switzerland 20 up against Italy In Paris Richard Gasquet and JoWilfried Tsonga were the winners against defending champions the Czech Republic Both countries now just need a win in Saturdays doubles to be sure of reaching the November 2123 finalFederer defeated Simone Bolleli 76 75 64 64 in the opening rubber of their semifinal against Italy and then Wawrinka crushed Fabio Fognini 62 63 62 That left the Swiss on the cusp of reaching the Davis Cup final for just the second time after finishing second to the United States in 1992Federer a 17time Grand Slam champion who has never appeared in a Davis Cup final was taken all the way in the first set against Bolleli but eased ahead by winning the tiebreak But once Federer grabbed the first service break of the match after more than an hours play to move 53 up Bollelis standard of play started to fall awayAnother break of serve thanks to a netcord in the third game of the third set sent Federer on his way and he made no mistake after that It was quite frustrating at times but thats indoor tennis the Swiss star said of a match played in front of a capacity 18000 crowd Playing beautiful nice points didnt really matter I just stayed with himAustralian Open champion Wawrinka was never troubled by Fognini dominating the Italian with 37 winners and 16 aces Playing at the French Open base of Roland Garros in Paris French number one Tsonga coasted to a 62 62 63 win over Lukas Rosol following Gasquets upset 62 63 62 victory over top Czech player Tomas Berdych I am very proud of the way they played today French captain Arnaud Clement said of his playersFor Richard it was perhaps the best match he has played in the Davis Cup and he chose right moment to do it Bravo to both of them and we are wellplaced this evening but we still have a long way to go Tsonga won five games in a row from 22 in the first set to pull clear of Rosol who was chosen ahead of veteran campaigner Radek Stepanek He stayed in total control of the match in the second set despite some bighitting from Rosol and when he broke again in the fourth game of the third set there was no way back for the outgunned CzechAll merit goes to Richard who gave me the perfect platform He played an extraordinary match and that helped me to win mine But they wont give in as easy as that so we have to stay focussed and play a great match The Czechs are seeking a third straight Davis Cup title while France are aiming for a first win in the annual team competition since 2001Gasquet who was chosen ahead of recent US Open semifinalist Gael Monfils took control early on against Berdych in front of a packed Philippe Chatrier centrecourt and he pocketed the first set 63 with a superb backhand drive down the line And it was the power of the Gasquet backhand again that led to the world number six Czech dropping serve twice in a row at the start of the second setThe Czech team spearhead claimed one of those breaks back to get to 31 but Gasquet held firm and broke again to take the set 62 Berdych held serve to open the third set but he was broken to love two games later as an onfire Gasquet continued to dominate on the claycourtGasquet had two match points in the ninth game and a doublefault from Berdych on the second of those gave the French a crucial opening point I had a lot of pressure but the crowd was unbelievable said Gasquet I didnt shut it out I tried to hear it The atmosphere is incredible Court Philippe Chatrier is built for the Davis Cup