France crashed out of the Davis Cup Friday when world No.3 Carlos Alcaraz beat Ugo Humbert 6-3, 6-3 in the second rubber in Valencia with a convincing display.
Earlier, the defeat of Arthur Fils to Roberto Bautista 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 put France 1-0 down and Humbert was unable to revive the French against a solid Alcaraz in front of a home crowd.
Since the reform of the Davis Cup in 2019, France has never managed to get beyond the group stage.
Spain and Australia with two successes each have booked their ticket for the Final 8 in Malaga at the end of November and will compete for the head of this group B on Sunday.
"It was the goal since the beginning of the week, to qualify for Malaga," Alcqaraz said.
"I was really, really focused, I was on a really high level of tennis and it's one of the best matches that I've played this year.
"Seeing my last month I needed this kind of match and I'm really happy with my performance today."
The United States made a return to the Davis Cup Final 8 after beating Slovakia 3-0 in Group C in Zuhai on Friday, while Spain also sealed their spot in the knockout stage.
Mackenzie McDonald beat Lukas Klein 6-4 6-3 in the day's opening singles before Brandon Nakashima beat Jozef Kovalik also in straight sets to give the Americans an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Austin Krajicek and Rajeev Ram then fought back to a 6-7(4) 7-6(4) 10-1 win over Norbert Gombos and Klein in the doubles for an overall 3-0 triumph after the U.S. failed to progress last year following defeats to the Netherlands and Finland.
It was the second group win for Bob Bryan's team who are missing a host of top singles players including U.S. Open runner-up Taylor Fritz. They also beat Chile 3-0.
Victory for the U.S. also meant Germany qualified for the Final 8 which will be held in Malaga in November.
Germany and the U.S. play in the final group game on Saturday with top spot at stake.
Spain also booked their Final 8 spot as they beat France in Group B in Valencia following their hard-fought victory against Czech Republic on Wednesday.
Roberto Bautista Agut came from a set down to beat Arthur Fils 2-6 7-5 6-3 before world number three Carlos Alcaraz dismantled Ugo Humbert 6-3 6-3 with one match still to play.
"I was pleased with the level I played from the beginning till the last ball. I was really focused," Alcaraz said.
"It was a high level of tennis. I was really, really intense. Probably one of the best matches I've played this year."
For the first time in 17 years, there's a back-to-back men's college basketball champion, the UConn Huskies.
Nervy ending for Italy
Reigning champions Italy earned their second Group A win, needing the doubles to settle their clash with Belgium in Bologna.
Matteo Berrettini fought back against Alexander Blockx to beat the 19-year-old, making his Davis Cup debut, 3-6 6-2 7-5.
Zizou Bergs then levelled the tie for Belgium with a 6-3 6-7(5) 6-0 win over Flavio Cobolli before Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori beat the duo Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen in straight sets.
Belgium face Brazil and Italy play the Netherlands in their final ties over the weekend.
In Group D, played in Manchester, Argentina maintained their over century-long winning streak against Britain in the competition with a 2-1 victory.
Tomas Etcheverry beat Daniel Evans 6-2 7-5 and Francisco Cerundolo went on to win 7-6(4) 7-5 against U.S. Open semi-finalist Jack Draper for Argentina to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat by Canada.
Evans then teamed up with Neal Skupski for a 6-3 7-5 win over Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni in the doubles.
Argentina's win means that all four Group D teams go into the weekend holding a chance to reach the Final 8, with Finland taking on Argentina on Saturday and Canada facing Britain on Sunday. AFP/REUTERS
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