France reached the Davis Cup final for the first time since 2010 when they took an unassailable 3-0 lead over two-time defending champions Czech Republic.
In the November 21-23 final, France will tackle either Switzerland or Italy whose semi-final in Geneva saw the home side pegged back to 2-1 after the Italian team won the doubles last night.
At Roland Garros, nine-time champions France clinched the winning point when Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-1.
It was just the second loss in 17 doubles outings for the veteran Czech pair.
The French efforts were aided by a hip injury to Stepanek while an out-of-sorts Berdych was clearly unsettled by the patriotic fervour inside Roland Garros, the home of the French Open.
Despite dropping the first set, the French pair capitalised on Stepanek’s woes who struggled for movement around the court especially in the fourth set.
“It’s for sure one of the best moments in our career to play here in a semi-final and to win on the second day,” said Tsonga.
“We always kept the fighting spirit and stayed in the match – we all know the Davis Cup is tough.”
In Geneva, doubles duo Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini took advantage of the absence of Roger Federer to keep Italy’s semi-final hopes alive.
Bolelli and Fognini both lost their singles ties on Friday to Federer and Stan Wawrinka respectively but came through 7-5, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 against Swiss pairing Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli to ensure that the tie will be decided today.