France sweep Britain aside in Davis Cup opener
Lucas Pouille and Jeremy Chardy moved France to the verge of the Davis Cup semi-finals on Friday with straight sets wins against a British team missing injured world number one Andy Murray.
Pouille gave hosts France a winning start in the quarter-final with a 7-5, 7-6 (8/6), 6-3 victory over Kyle Edmund.
Chardy then eased past Dan Evans, playing on clay for the first time in three years, 6-2, 6-3, 6-3.
Edmund, drafted into the singles line-up after the withdrawal of Murray with an elbow injury, was made to pay for letting slip a 5/2 lead in the second-set tiebreak.
Pouille, the world number 17 and his team's top singles player in the absence of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils, swept the breaker before dominating the deciding set.
France can wrap up the tie on Saturday when Nicolas Mahut and Julien Benneteau face Jamie Murray and Dominic Inglot in the doubles.
The winners of the tie will face either Serbia or Spain in the semi-finals.