France wasted little time in turning its thoughts to Davis Cup final opponent Serbia after completing a 5-0 rout of Argentina Sunday. France, which beat holder Spain 5-0 in the previous round, will have to play away for the first time in this year's edition of the men's team event. Serbia edged out the Czech Republic in a nerve-jangling decisive rubber to win its semifinal 3-2. “The Serbian players (Janko Tipsarevic and Novak Djokovic) have a lot of talent,” France captain Guy Forget told reporters as he looked ahead to the Dec. 3-5 showdown. “We always played at home this year but this time it will not be in our favor. We are probably going to play in front of a 20,000 wild crowd and it is going to be painful.” Nine-time champion France has a 4-4 record against former Yougoslavia, which it beat in their last encounter, the 1991 semifinal. That year France went on to win the title against the United States, with Forget one of the key players in the team. After opening up an unbeatable 3-0 lead on Saturday, Gilles Simon beat doubles specialist Eduardo Schwank 7-6 6-7 6-3 while Arnaud Clement followed up his doubles win with Michael Llodra on Saturday by downing Horacio Zeballos 7-5 6-1. Mardy Fish, meanwhile, defeated Santiago Giraldo 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 4-6, 8-6 to give the United States an insurmountable 3-1 lead in its Davis Cup World Group playoff against Colombia also Sunday. Winning the tie on outdoor red clay means the United States will remain in the World Group, the top tier of the Davis Cup, while Colombia stays outside a group for which it has never qualified. Fish became the first American to win three times in a tie since Pete Sampras in the 1995 final in Moscow. He won in Friday's singles and teamed up with John Isner to win the doubles Saturday. In Chennai, host India came from behind to snatch a dramatic 3-2 win over Brazil Sunday in the stifling Chennai heat and retain its place in the Davis Cup World Group. India, which trailed 0-2 after the opening day, fought back to win the doubles Saturday and took both the reverse singles on Sunday in front of some 2,000 boisterous home fans. India's top player Somdev Devvarman led world No. 27 Thomaz Bellucci 7-6 (7-3), 4-0 in the first reverse singles before the Brazilian retired ill after an hour and 26 minutes. Rohan Bopanna brushed aside Ricardo Mello 6-3, 7-6 (7-2), 6-3 in the decider to hand India a memorable win at the sun-baked Nungambakkam Tennis Stadium. Groth wins title In China, Australia's Jarmila Groth Sunday claimed her first WTA title with an easy 6-1, 6-4 victory over Russia's Alla Kudryavtseva at the Guangzhou Open in southern China. The 23-year-old Groth powered 11 aces past Kudryavtseva to notch the win and take home the $37,000 winner's check. Mattek-Sands-Paszek final American Bethanie Mattek-Sands beat third-seeded Lucie Safarova of the Czech Republic 6-2, 6-1 Saturday to reach the Bell Challenge final. No. 3-seeded Mattek-Sands will face Tamira Paszek Sunday after the Austrian beat American Christina McHale 6-2, 6-2 in the indoor WTA Tour event at Club Avantage Multi-Sports de Quebec. Mattek-Sands had lost both of her previous matches Lucie Safarova in straight sets.
