France qualify for Davis Cup group stage

French duo came back from a set down to beat Taiwanese players 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/1)

PARIS:

France booked their place in the group stages of the Davis Cup after completing a 4-0 win over Taiwan in Taipei on Sunday.

Already leading 2-0 from Saturday's singles, France secured their passage when Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin came back from a set down to beat Yu Hsiou Hsu and Jason Jung 3-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7/1).

"We were perhaps a little timid at the start," said Roger-Vasselin.

"We stayed calm. We knew our level of play was going to change. We had to keep our nerve."

Quentin Halys rounded off the French victory with a 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) win over Chun Hsin Tseng.

Serbia, Netherlands, Finland, Germany, Brazil, USA and holders Canada also qualified over the weekend with another four ties still to be decided.

Defending champions Italy and last year's runners-up Australia, as well as Britain and Spain have advanced automatically to the finals.