Michael Llodra went all guns blazing and Gael Monfils outpaced David Nalbandian to put France on the verge of the Davis Cup final with a 2-0 lead over Argentina Friday. Llodra got the ball rolling with a 7-5, 4-6, 7-5, 6-3 win over Juan Monaco and Monfils followed up nicely by beating Nalbandian 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, 6-3. France only needs one more point to seal its place in the final against either Serbia or the Czech Republic. Llodra and Arnaud Clement will pair up in the doubles against Horacio Zeballos and Eduardo Schwank Saturday. Serbia and the Czech Republic were tied after the first day. Janko Tipsarevic upset Tomas Berdych to pull Serbia level with the Czech Republic. Radek Stepanek had fought back from a set down to beat Viktor Troicki 4-6, 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 and put the Czechs ahead before Tipsarevic defeated Berdych 7-5, 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 to take the score to 1-1. Troicki, who stood in for Novak Djokovic after the world number two pulled out of the opening singles with gastroenteritis and fatigue, was thoroughly outplayed by Stepanek after winning the opening set. In Colombia, Santiago Giraldo of Colombia defeated American Sam Querrey 6-2, 6-4, 7-5 to level their World Group Davis Cup playoff at 1-1 after the first day. In Friday's first singles, Mardy Fish defeated Alejandro Falla 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 in the best-of-five tie. The winner of the tie will remain in the Davis Cup World Cup, the top tier of the competition. The United States has dropped out of the World Group only once since it began in 1981. In India, Brazil won two tense five-set marathons against India Friday to take a 2-0 lead in the Davis Cup World Group playoffs. World No. 27 Thomaz Bellucci fought back from the brink to prevail over the 479th-ranked Rohan Bopanna 6-7 (2/7), 7-6 (9/7), 7-5, 4-6, 10-8 in four hours and 28 minutes. Ricardo Mello then beat India's number one Somdev Devvarman 4-6, 6-2, 6-7 (3/7), 6-2, 6-4 in another classic that lasted four hours and 12 minutes. Arvidsson in quarters Sweden's Sofia Arvidsson rallied to reach the quarterfinals of the WTA Tour's Bell Challenge Thursday with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Croatia's Mirjana Lucic. The eighth-seeded Swede will next face Austrian Tamira Paszek, who rolled past 36-year-old American Jill Craybas 6-3, 6-2. Paszek had to qualify to get into the main draw. Americans Christina McHale and Alexa Glatch advanced, both dousing the hopes of Canadian contenders. McHale cruised past wild card Valerie Tetreault 6-4, 6-3, and Glatch beat Stephanie Dubois 7-5, 6-2. In Friday's other quarter, third-seeded Czech Lucie Safarova, the 2009 runnerup, will take on fifth-seeded American Melanie Oudin and American Bethanie Mattek-Sands will face Canadian wild card Canadian Rebecca Marino. Groth into semifinals In China, top-seeded Jarmila Groth of Australia advanced to the semifinals of the Guangzhou International Friday with a 6-0, 6-2 defeat of Italy's Maria Elena Camerin. Groth next faces unseeded Romanian Edina Gallovits, who came back from a slow start to beat China's Han Xinyun 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. Earlier, Alla Kudryavtseva of Russia beat countrywoman Ksenia Pervak, 6-3, 6-1. Kudryavtseva will play China's Zhang Shuai in the other semifinal. Zhang beat India's Sania Mirza in three sets 6-4, 1-6, 6
