PARIS -- Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet put France back in the Davis Cup final by winning the doubles and ending the two-year reign of the Czech Republic on Saturday.
Tsonga and Gasquet, who won their singles on Friday, gave Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek a rare doubles defeat in Davis Cup, 6-7 (4), 6-4, 7-6 (5), 6-1 at Roland Garros.
France made the final for the first time since 2010. It won the last of its nine titles in 2001.
The defending champion Czechs needed to win the doubles to keep alive their chances of reaching a third straight final, but Stepanek suffered a lower back injury in the second set and Berdych struggled with consistency.
"It was getting worse and worse, and at the end of the second set I was very limited in my movements," said Stepanek, who was unable to sit during the news conference. "In normal circumstances I would have retired, but I believed I had to somehow finish the match."
Both captains amended their pairings before the match, but Berdych and Stepanek were unable to extend their winning partnership, as they were handed only their second loss in 17 doubles in the competition, the last occasion to Spain in the 2009 final.
The French pair got off to a strong start on center court, breaking in the second game when Gasquet fired a passing shot in Berdych's feet. They quickly built a 4-1 lead but dropped three consecutive games as Stepanek raised his level.
Gasquet unleashed a superb backhand pass to put the French 4-2 ahead in the tiebreak but the the Czechs regained momentum as they won five straight points to close out the set.
The French had to dig deep to stave off seven break points early in the second set, and went a break up at 3-2 off Stepanek's serve when Tsonga hit a backhand crosscourt winner.
Stepanek and Berdych left the court with the French up 5-4, as the former asked for medical treatment. They were greeted with jeers and whistles when they returned after a nearly 10-minute break. Tsonga looked unfazed and held his serve, wrapping up the set with an ace to level the set score.
Berdych dropped his focus as he served two consecutive double faults in the error-riddled next game to hand the French a break. The tall Czech was again at fault when he missed a backhand volley on Stepanek's serve, with their opponents moving up 3-0.
The twists and turns continued as the Czechs recovered, despite more treatment for Stepanek, who was in obvious pain. They won three straight games to lead 5-4, then failed to hold on to a 4-2 lead in the tiebreak. Gasquet fired a dazzling pass down the line to seal the set, raising his arms in triumph to the delight of the legion of French fans.
Switzerland rests Federer, leads Italy 2-1
GENEVA -- Roger Federer got the day off on Saturday, and now he needs to play Sunday to help Switzerland advance to its first Davis Cup final in 22 years.
Without Federer, who was rested, Switzerland lost in doubles to Italy and had its lead cut to 2-1 in their semifinal.
The Swiss paired Stan Wawrinka with Marco Chiudinelli instead. They lost 7-5, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 against Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli at Palexpo indoor arena.
"Roger suggested that he should not play just because he had a lot of matches this year," Swiss captain Severin Luethi said.
Federer, who played in the U.S. Open semifinals last weekend, won his team's first point on Friday by beating Bolelli in straight sets.
The Swiss No. 1 can help Switzerland advance to the final with a win against Fognini in Sunday's opening reverse singles. Wawrinka will play Bolelli in a decider if Federer loses.
"He's going to be fresh, and it's an advantage for us," Luethi said of Federer.
The winner plays France in the final on Nov. 21-23.
Watched by Federer on the sidelines, the Swiss pair seemed in control of the match until losing serve to trail 4-2 in the fourth set.
The Italians broke Chiudinelli's serve for a 2-1 lead in the decider and held off Swiss pressure to hold in the next game.
On Fognini's serve, Italy took its third match-point chance when Bolelli put away an overhead at the net.
The 3-hour, 57-minute five-setter was nothing unusual for the Wawrinka-Chiudinelli pairing on this court.
They were involved in the longest doubles match in Davis Cup history at Palexpo in February 2013. Then, the Swiss lost 24-22 in the deciding set after a 7-hour, 1-minute marathon against Czech pair Tomas Berdych and Lukas Rosol.
Switzerland has never won the Davis Cup and reached its only final 22 years ago, losing to a United States team of Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, John McEnroe and Pete Sampras.
Brazil pushes Spain to the brink of elimination
SAO PAULO -- Bruno Soares and Marcelo Melo defeated Marc Lopez and David Marrero 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 to give Brazil a 2-1 lead over Spain in a Davis Cup playoff on Saturday, leaving the five-time champions in danger of dropping to zonal play for the first time since 1996.
Brazil had key breaks late in all three sets to clinch the victory in 2 hours, 35 minutes at the Ibirapuera indoor arena. The hosts broke for 5-3 in the first set, and held on after going up 6-5 in the last two.
"We were practically perfect when we needed," Soares said. "We know we can win this series, we believe in our team, and we will fight until the end. We need only one more point tomorrow."
Without Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, Spain needs to win both reverse singles on Sunday to remain in the World Group next year. Roberto Bautista Agut, the team's best-ranked player at No. 15, will face Brazil No. 1 Thomaz Bellucci, while Pablo Andujar plays Rogerio Dutra Silva if the tie goes to a decider.
"We would rather be up 2-1 but I still have all the confidence in our team," Spain captain Carlos Moya said. "Both of our players are capable of winning their matches in the final day."
Brazil is trying to return to the World Group for only the second time since 2003.
Spain has been the dominant team in the last decade with four titles.
The doubles featured in-form specialists. Soares was coming off the mixed doubles title at the U.S. Open last week with Sania Mirza of India, while Lopez was runner-up in the men's doubles final with countryman Marcel Granollers. Melo was a semifinalist.
On Friday, Bautista Agut beat Silva, and Bellucci rallied from two sets down to beat Andujar.
Bopanna-Paes rally to keep India hopes alive vs. Serbia
BANGALORE, India -- India's Rohan Bopanna and Leander Paes came back from two sets down to beat Ilija Bozoljac and Nenand Zimonjic in the doubles match and narrowed Serbia's lead to 2-1 in the Davis Cup playoff on Saturday.
Bopanna and Paes lost the first two sets before raising their game to clinch the next three, winning the match 1-6, 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-3, 8-6.
Leading 7-6 in the decider, the Indian pair broke Zimonjic's serve to complete a memorable victory in 2 hours, 50 minutes.
India must still win both reverse singles matches Sunday to return to World Group action after a three-year absence.
Doubles team gives Israel 2-1 edge on Argentina
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Led by the doubles team of Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram, Israel took a 2-1 lead over Argentina.
Erlich and Ram defeated Argentina's Federico Delbonis and Horacio Zeballos 6-3, 3-6, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in 91-degree heat at the Sunrise Tennis Center.
Ram pulled a muscle in his left leg with Israel leading 4-2 in the fifth set, and was forced to serve ever-so-slowly in the final game of the match.
Argentina hammered his weak serves, but Erlich managed several successful volleys to help his team get the win.
The event was originally a home match for Israel in Tel Aviv. But the International Tennis Federation moved it to Florida because of safety concerns.
Favored Argentina is ranked fourth in Davis Cup. Israel is ranked 19th.
The competition resumes with reverse singles on Sunday. Argentina's Leonardo Mayer takes on Dudi Sela, followed by Carlos Berlocq against Israel's Bar Botzer.
The winning country becomes one of 16 teams that will compete to win the 2015 Davis Cup. The loser will play next year in World Group II.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.