France took a giant step towards the Davis Cup final after Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga both triumphed in Friday's World Group semi-finals singles rubbers against Czech Republic.


Gasquet claimed first blood for France over the defending champions with victory over Tomas Berdych in the first match of the day before Tsonga defeated Lukas Rosol to give his country a 2-0 lead.

Gasquet came through to win 6-3 6-2 6-3 in a match time of two hours and eight minutes in the first rubber.

"It was my worst Davis Cup match, but also Richard played well," Berdych told daviscup.com. "The truth is I was not a competitive enough opponent for him, that's why the score looks like how it is.

"This is the toughest conditions for me, coming from fast hard courts to the clay. I definitely need more time, but it was a good choice for France. I need to move on and get over it."

Next up was Tsonga, who took on the big-hitting Rosol in the next singles rubber.

The world No 12 made it 2-0 to France with another straight-sets victory, dropping one fewer game than Gasquet.

Tsonga won 6-2 6-2 6-3 in just over and hour and a half to put France just one victory away from a place in the final.

Roger Federer gave Switzerland a 1-0 lead over Italy as he battled to a 7-5 (8/6) 6-4 6-4 win over Simone Bolelli in the first singles rubber of their World Group semi-finals.