The Davis Cup semifinal clash between France and Argentina will take place in Lyon, France according to the French Tennis Federation.

The tie, which will be played Sept. 17-19, will be held at the Palais des Sports de Gerland on an indoor hard court.

France reached the semifinals by dismissing defending champs Spain 4-1 in the quarterfinals, while Argentina defeated Russia 3-2.

France holds a 4-0 career head-to-head lead over Argentina, with the teams not playing since 1982.

Davis Cup hero David Nalbandian propelled his Argentine team into the semifinals of the 2010 World Group by dismantling Mikhail Youzhny 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-3.

After defeating Nikolay Davydenko on Friday, Nalbandian watched as the top 10 Russian defeated Eduardo Schwank 4-6, 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in the ties’ fourth rubber.

Forcing a fifth and final rubber, Nalbandian came out with purpose to dismiss his higher ranked opponent. Ranked No. 153 in the world, Nalbandian used his terrific return game, and precise serving to advance easily in two hours and 26 minutes.

Winning over 70 percent of both his first and second serve points, Nalbandian broke the serve of Youzhny on three of seven occasions, while never losing his serve.

Encountering a string of injuries in recent years, Nalbandian has made it clear that winning the Davis Cup remains his final career goal.

Advancing to a semifinal against France, Nalbandian and his Argentine squad will play in France, September 17-21.

Nalbandian improved to 32-9 in Davis Cup competition.

Elsewhere, world No. 2 Novak Djokovic poured in a resounding performance to elevate his Serbian team into their first ever Davis Cup semifinal.

Destroying Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-3, 6-2, Djokovic lost his serve on three occasions, but put even more pressure on Cilic’s service games by breaking the tall Croat on eight of 16 occasions.

Defeating Ivan Ljubicic on Friday, Djokovic will lead his team against the Czech Republic at home in September.

“Personally, I had a lot of responsibility with the package that I carried on my back before this tie, but right now I feel so relieved that we won,” said Djokovic.

“We won in one of the toughest atmospheres against a team that has a lot of success in this competition.”

Janko Tipsarevic later completed a 4-1 victory for Serbia by defeating Antonio Veic 6-2, 7-6 (5).

In other Davis Cup ties, France completed a 5-0 sweep of defending Davis Cup champion Spain, while the Czech Republic currently leads Chile 3-1 after clinching their semifinal position on Saturday.

Quotes courtesy of DavisCup.com.

Quarterfinal action for the 2010 Davis Cup World Group began today in full force with all four ties taking place.

Argentine David Nalbandian improved to 7-5 lifetime against Nikolay Davydenko by dismissing the Russian 6-4, 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6). Losing his serve on two straight occasions towards the tail-end of the third set, Nalbandian regained his momentum by using his backhand down-the-line to gain a mini-break in the deciding tiebreak.

The two hour and 47 minute match, which was played with more unforced errors to winners, became a crucial win for Argentina considering that Leonardo Mayer would fall to Russian Mikhail Youzhny in the day’s second rubber.

Needing just over two hours to advance, Youzhny struck two aces while winning 71 percent of his first serve points.

Saturday’s doubles contest between Teimuraz Gabashvili and Igor Kunitsyn vs. David Nalbandian Horacio Zeballos will become pivotal in deciding a 2-1 leader heading into Sunday’s reverse singles.

Nalbandian admitted that his level of play against Davydenko was far from his best.

“We didn’t play our best tennis, as it’s difficult coming back from injuries and it’s not easy to come back and play Davis Cup,” said Nalbandian.

“I always believe in my game and at the beginning I saw he wasn’t too solid from the baseline and also with his serve too, so I managed to get things on my side.”

Elsewhere, Gael Monfils dug deep to provide France a 1-0 lead over Spain by defeating David Ferrer in five sets 7-6(3), 6-2, 4-6, 5-7, 6-4, while Novak Djokovic pushed forward to a commanding win over Ivan Ljubicic, 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-1 to give Serbia a 1-0 advantage over Croatia.

After trailing by two sets, it appeared that Ferrer was on the mend by capturing the third and fourth sets. Fighting back from a 4-2 deficit in the fifth set, Ferrer would lose his serve and the match at 4-5 when Monfils struck a down-the-line forehand winner.

Celebrating with an on-court hug with team captain Guy Forget, Monfils improved to 2-1 in Davis Cup singles competition.

Fernando Verdasco and Micheal Llodra are currently locked at one set apiece in the day’s second rubber.

World No. 2 Djokovic displayed scintillating form in recording his sixth career victory over Ljubicic on the strength of his strong return game. Providing no aces towards his victory, Djokovic broke serve on five of 13 occasions, while winning 76 percent of his first serve points.

Needing two hours and 28 minutes to prevail, Djokovic’s win will likely take his squad into a 1-1 tie after Friday’s play.

Wiry Croat Marin Cilic currently leads Serb Viktor Troicki by two sets.

The weekend’s final tie featured Ivo Minor giving his Czech Republic squad a 1-0 lead over Chile by dismissing Nicolas Massu 6-0, 6-2, 6-3. The ties’ second match will feature Jan Hajek vs. Paul Capdeville.

For continued updates on today’s matches, check out the live scores section on the top menu, or atlernatively click the link below to watch Davis Cup action live.

Davis Cup live streaming.

Quotes courtesy of daviscup.com.

Former Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian was granted a wildcard into this summer’s Legg Mason Tennis Classic in Washington, D.C.

Returning to action this weekend to aid his Argentine team in their Davis Cup bid, Nalbandian will join a star-studded field in Nation’s capital.

Tomas Berdych, Robin Soderling, Andy Roddick, John Isner and Sam Querrey will also be playing.

Tournament director Jeff Newman had this to say regarding the solid field at the ATP World Tour 500 point event.

“Our elevation to an ATP World Tour 500 event was in an effort to showcase the best player field possible for our fans, while also attracting top players who have not participated here in Washington,” said Newman,.  “We feel we have accomplished both of these goals having three of the current top 10 (Roddick, Soderling and Berdych) and the addition of Nalbandian, yet another player who is making his debut at the Legg Mason Tennis Classic.

The event will take place July 31 through August 8 at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center.

Quotes courtesy of atpworldtour.com.

The Wimbledon Championships was struck a severe blow this week when three of it’s best grass-court players were forced to withdraw.

The tournament’s 2002 finalist David Nalbandian decided to sit out of the event in order to better prepare for his nation’s Davis Cup tie in early July. Struggling with a recent hip and hamstring injury, Nalbandian last played on Tour in Monte Carlo.

Big serving Croat Ivo Karlovic, who made the quarterfinals last year, will miss The Championships because of a foot injury. Slated to be seeded No. 25 in the event, Karlovic will look to return to the circuit in early July.

Flamboyant Czech player Radek Stepanek will also miss the year’s third Grand Slam event with a knee injury, and will subsequently miss his countries’ upcoming Davis Cup tie.

Stepanek had also missed the last two months on Tour because of fatigue. Stepanek was to be seeded No. 22 in the event.

Wimbledon begins on June 21st.

Former Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian has ruled himself fit for the year’s third Grand Slam event in London, England.

Losing in the finals of Wimbledon to Lleyton Hewitt in 2002, Nalbandian missed the French Open with a hamstring injury.

Currently ranked No. 150 in the world, Nalbandian has not played competitively since losing in the quarterfinals of Monte Carlo.

Former Wimbledon finalist David Nalbandian will miss the year’s second Grand Slam event in Paris with a hamstring injury. Returning to the Tour earlier this year after recovering from a hip injury, Nalbandian will continue to rest in Argentina, while remaining optimistic on returning the grass courts in England.

Reaching the semifinals at the French Open on two occasions, Nalbandian currently holds a 9-3 record on the year. The Argentine posted quarterfinal finishes in Buenos Aries and Monte Carlo earlier this season.

In a bizarre coincidence on Tuesday at the Madrid Masters 1000 in Spain, both Tomas Berdych and David Nalbandian, who were slated to face each other in the day’s most highly anticipated first-round match, were both forced to withdraw prior to their encounter with injury.

Berdych was forced to withdraw with a right hip injury, while Nalbandian was forced to concede his place in the draw after aggravating his hamstring.

The absence of the former top 10 players in the draw meant that Americans Mardy Fish and Michael Russell were granted lucky loser entrance into the 56-man field, and will now have an opportunity to battle for a second-round showing.

Fish lost in the last round of qualifying to Alexander Dolgopolov, while Russell was ousted by Daniel Gimeno-Traver.

Fish will be competing in his first clay-court match of the year, while Russell currently stands at 0-2 on the dirt this season.

The pair have never met on the ATP World Tour

The 56-man field at the Barcelona Open BancSabadell continued to encounter further top player withdrawals Monday after top seed Rafael Nadal pulled out earlier in the day.

Recent Miami finalist Tomas Berdych, and Monte Carlo quarterfinalist David Nalbandian have also withdrawn from the ATP World Tour 500 point event.

Berdych is suffering from a right ankle injury, while Nalbandian will be out action for at least two weeks with a hamstring injury. The Argentine will reportedly return to the Tour in Madrid.

Rolex Monte Carlo Masters 1000—Monaco

Recent Miami finalist Tomas Berdych began his clay-court season in fine fashion on Monday, defeating fast-court player Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 6-1 to advance to the second-round of the Monte Carlo Masters.

Transitioning nicely from hard to clay courts, Berdych began the contest slightly sluggish by losing his serve. Trailing 1-0 in the first-set, Berdych began to call upon his recent form from Indian Wells and Miami by breaking his Spanish opponent immediately before scoring a second break during the seventh game.

Striking an ace on set point, Berdych’s fine use of attacking the net while remaining steady from the backcourt would continue throughout the contest.

Breaking Lopez immediately to start the second set, Berdych would win six of the final seven games of the match to advance to the second-round.

Striking a double fault on match point, Lopez’s miserable day of tennis ended after one hour and five minutes.

Berdych will likely face a tougher opponent in the second-round, when he takes on Frenchman Richard Gasquet for the third time.

Gasquet, who reached the quarterfinals in Casablanca last week, scored a three set win over Daniel Gimeno-Traver 6-2, 4-6, 6-2.

Winning 81 percent of his first serve points, Gasquet struck two aces during the two hour and six minute contest.

Leading Berdych 2-0 in career head-to-head meetings, Gasquet’s previous victories over his Czech opponent took place on hard-courts.

Based on the current variables of Berdych’s confidence versus Gasquet’s willingness to improve on clay, I’d say that this second-round encounter should be a great match.

Berdych’s movement could be exposed by Gasquet’s sharp angle backhand, but if the Czech can control the center of the court, then he should prevail.

Elsewhere, a relatively fit and focused David Nalbandian dismantled Andreas Beck of Germany 6-3, 6-1 in one hour and eight minutes.

Using a clever blend of drop shots and lobs to begin the contest, Nalbandian’s renowned backhand crosscourt struck numerous winners.

Breaking serve in the fourth game of the second set, Nalbandian continued his onslaught of baseline aggression over his No. 54 ranked opponent.

Nalbandian, who is currently ranked No. 151 in the world—based on being out of actin for nearly a year—won his eighth first serve point of the set with a service winner to end the affair.

Capturing his seventh match victory of the season, Nalbandian will next face No. 7 seed Mikhail Youzhny in the second-round.

Trailing Youzhny 2-0 in career head-to-head meetings, the pair last met during the the 2004 US Open. Youzhny won that match in five sets.

I’d say that Nalbandian has the slight edge in this encounter based on his renewed vigor towards the sport. The Argentine knows that this is his final opportunity to make a drive towards the top of the rankings, and winning matches at the Masters level becomes vital.

Competent clay court player David Ferrer took one step closer to setting up a potential intriguing semi-final clash with tournament favorite Rafael Nadal by defeating Peter Luczak 6-2, 6-4.

Luczak, who favors the clay more than any other surface, was completely dominated throughout the one hour and 37 minute match, losing his serve on four of seven occasions while winning only 53 percent of his second serve points.

By contrast, Ferrer was efficient in implementing his consistent baseline tempo, while waiting to hit his inside out forehand.

Gaining two breaks of serve in each set, Ferrer was utterly workmanlike in capturing his 18th win of the season.

Reaching the quarterfinals on four straight occasions in Monaco between 2005-2008, Ferrer will next face Andrey Golubev, who defeated Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 7-6 (2).

Winning the event in Acapulco, Mexico in February, while reaching the semifinals in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Valencia native stands at 11-1 on clay this season.

Former champion Juan Carlos Ferrero improved to a Tour-leading 15-1 on clay-courts this year after defeating his countryman Marcel Granollers 6-0, 6-3.

Blitzing through his No. 88 ranked opponent, Ferrero needed a mere one hour and nine minutes to set up a second-round encounter against Benjamin Becker.

Becker disposed of young Australian Bernard Tomic 6-4, 6-2.

Other first-round results on day two action in Monaco included:

Nicolas Almagro fighting past Simon Gruel 3-6, 7-5, 6-2; Julien Benneteau disposing of Masters newcomer Oleksandr Dolgopolov Jr. 6-4, 5-7, 6-2; Philipp Kohlschreiber taking out Thomaz Bellucci 2-6, 6-3, 7-6 (3) in two hours and 23 minutes; Ernests Gulbis defeating Marco Chiudinelli 6-3, 6-2, and Philipp Petzchner dismissing Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 6-3, 2-6, 6-2.

Tuesday’s order of play in Monte Carlo will feature:

Marin Cilc, Fernando Verdasco, and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.