France rallied from two sets down to stun Serbia in a drama-filled doubles and take a 2-1 lead in the Davis Cup final on Saturday.
Arnaud Clement and Michael Llodra overcame Nenad Zimonjic and Viktor Troicki and a hostile crowd in Belgrade Arena to triumph 3-6, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 and leave France needing only one more win to win a 10th Davis Cup, and first since 2001.
Only twice since 1981 has the team which won the doubles failed to win the final, and one of those was France, which blew a 2-1 lead against Russia in 2002 in Paris.
''We are leading 2-1, but we still have a far way to go,'' France captain Guy Forget said.
The final, Serbia's first, looks set to be decided in the fifth and last rubber on Sunday.
Serb star Novak Djokovic will be expected to win under intense hometown pressure - as usual - against Gael Monfils in the first reverse singles between the team No. 1s. Djokovic has a 5-0 record against Monfils, including a straight-sets win in their last match in the U.S. Open quarterfinals, and should he win again the final will be decided by the No. 2s.
The bespectacled Janko Tipsarevic, who succumbed to nerves and Monfils in the opening singles on Friday, is scheduled to play Gilles Simon.
Simon won their only previous match at 2008 Rotterdam in two tiebreakers.
But Tipsarevic has recent experience of winning the decisive fifth rubber in the semifinals against the Czech Republic, when Serbia came back from 2-1 down.
''This is not the first time that we are in this kind of situation,'' Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic said. ''We will not surrender.''
Clement lost his serve in both sets that the French lost, but the 32-year-old veteran suddenly turned into the best serve-and-volleyer and would hardly be tested on serve again.
Both teams had to ask their fans in vain to be fair, as spectators shouted during serves and rallies in an increasingly noisy and tense atmosphere.
Clement's unreturnable volley into Zimonjic earned the decisive break in the opening game of the third set, and in the fourth, Clement's spectacular lob that landed on the baseline triggered the crucial break for that set.
Zimonjic, doubles champion of the French Open and recent ATP Finals, lost his serve in the opening game of the fifth set, and the Serbs blew their last two break points in the eighth game before the French wrapped up their comeback win after 4 hours, 34 minutes.
Clement and Llodra improved their record in Davis Cup doubles to 8-2.
''The key was the spirit we had on the court,'' said Clement, playing in his first Davis Cup final after missing out in 2001 and 2002. ''It was not easy to start the third set because (we were) two sets down. Mentally it's very, very difficult.''
''During this week, Guy told us, think about something: In France, in front of TV, millions of people are watching, wanting you to win. I thought about this during the match today. To win this match for all these people, for the team, it's a fantastic feeling.''
Zimonjic was philosophical.
''I think overall we played a good match,'' he said. ''We had maybe six, seven breakpoints that we did not take. That's basically where we lost the match.''
