The United States has reached its first Davis Cup semifinal since 2008 after overcoming a France team led by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gilles Simon in Sunday’s quarterfinal tie.
John Isner was the hero for the Americans, winning both his rubbers in a 3-2 victory, as Bob and Mike Bryan scored a comfortable doubles victory.
A Spanish team boasting world No. 5 David Ferrer knocked out Austria 4-1 Sunday and now awaits the U.S. in September’s semifinal, which will be played in Spain.
The U.S. reached the semifinal with a surprise 5-0 rout of a Switzerland team including 16-time Grand Slam winner Roger Federer in February.
“I came out there and played very well and I’m just very thrilled with my performance. I’m very happy that our team is going on to the semifinals,” Isner, the world No. 11, said in comments on the Davis Cup website.
Reigning champion Spain typically hosts its home Davis Cup games on clay, and Isner said the clay surface in France played into his hands.
“It’s a surface I enjoy playing on and a surface I feel I can do very well on.”
The United States suffered an early setback when Tsonga beat Ryan Harrison 7-5, 6-2, 2-6, 6-2 in the first rubber, before Isner leveled the scores with a 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 win over Simon, who is ranked two places below him.
The Bryans lived up to their ranking as the world’s top-ranked mens’ doubles pair with a 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(4) defeat of France’s Julien Benneteau and Michel Llodra.
Isner then completed the U.S. triumph by upsetting Tsonga, the world No. 6, in four sets 6-3, 7-6(4), 5-7, 6-3, before Simon beat Harrison in the dead rubber.
The Czech Republic beat Serbia on Sunday to reach the other semifinal, with Tomas Berdych defeating Janko Tipsarevic 7-6(6), 7-6(6), 7-6(7) in a tight straight-sets win.
The Czechs will travel to Argentina for the match, after the South Americans knocked out Croatia, Juan Martin del Potro sealing the win with a straight-sets triumph over Marin Cilic.
Russian will be defending its world group status in playoffs later this year after being knocked out by Austria in February.
