Davis Cup: France completes 4-1 victory over Japan

TOKYO (AP) France completed a 4-1 win over Japan in their Davis Cup World Group first-round tie on Sunday. France secured a quarterfinal berth on Saturday with

TOKYO (AP) France completed a 4-1 win over Japan in their Davis Cup World Group first-round tie on Sunday.

France secured a quarterfinal berth on Saturday with a win by the doubles pairing of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut that followed singles victories by Richard Gasquet and Gilles Simon.

On Sunday, captain Yannick Noah had the luxury of resting Gasquet and Simon. Mahut replaced Gasquet and took the first set off Yoshihito Nishioka 6-1 before the Japanese player retired with a left wrist injury.

Yasutaka Uchiyama beat Herbert 6-4, 6-4 in the final reverse singles match to restore some pride for the hosts.

France will face either Britain or Canada in April while Japan will enter the playoffs in September in a bid to retain their place in the top tier.