Serbia, France set up semi-final clash

Serbia and France set up a Davis Cup semi-final showdown yesterday while 32-time winners United States and Italy, who stunned defending champions Argentina in the first round, stayed alive with marathon wins.In Belgrade, Serbia’s Viktor Troicki and Nenad Zimonjic defeated Pablo Carreno-Busta and Marc Lopez 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-0, 4-6, 6-2 to seal victory over Spain while, in Rouen, France also took an unassailable 3-0 lead against Great Britain.France, the nine-time champions, will host 2010 winners Serbia in the semi-finals in September.However, the identity of the other semi-finalists will not be known until today after the United States pulled back to 2-1 down against Australia in Brisbane while Italy battled to trail Belgium 2-1 at Charleroi.Novak Djokovic and Troicki had won Friday’s singles to give Serbia a 2-0 lead over Spain before the hosts took an unassailable advantage yesterday against the five-time champions who were missing 14-time Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal.Victory gave 40-year-old playing-captain Zimonjic, who has not missed a Davis Cup tie for a decade, a 30th win in the tournament. “He had pressure, he put himself into play and did a great job,” said Troicki.France reached their fifth semi-final in eight years when Nicolas Mahut and Julien Benneteau defeated Britain’s Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot 7-6 (9/7), 5-7, 7-5, 7-5.“We had a great weekend, it gave me goosebumps,” said France captain Yannick Noah.In Brisbane, Steve Johnson and Jack Sock kept American hopes alive with a 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over Australia’s John Peers and Sam Groth.The win sets up an intriguing final day, with Nick Kyrgios taking on Sock in the first of the reverse singles.Key quarter-final results from yesterdayBelgium 2 Italy 1 Andreas Seppi/Simone Bolelli (ITA) bt Ruben Bemelmans/Joris De Loore (BEL) 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6)Australia 2 USA 1 Steve Johnson/Jack Sock (USA) bt Sam Groth/John Peers (AUS) 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 France 3 Great Britain 0 Nicolas Mahut/Julien Benneteau (FRA) bt Jamie Murray/Dominic Inglot (GBR) 7-6 (9/7), 5-7, 7-5, 7-5 Serbia 3 Spain 0 Nenad Zimonjic/Viktor Troicki (SRB) bt Marc Lopez/Pablo Carreno-Busta (ESP) 4-6, 7-6 (7/4), 6-0, 4-6, 6-2