London: Holders Spain were on the brink of elimination in the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Friday after France won both the opening singles in Clermont-Ferrand.

Without world No 1 Rafael Nadal, resting his knees after his French Open and Wimbledon triumphs, Spain slipped behind when Gael Monfils beat David Ferrer 7-6, 6-2, 4-6, 5-7, 6-4 before Michael Llodra saw off Fernando Verdasco 6-7 6-4 6-3 7-6.

Spain are going for a hat-trick of titles but will have to win Saturday's doubles and both reverse singles on Sunday to stay in the competition.

"We lead 2-0, but it's not over yet. We have one point left to grab but this point will probably be the most difficult one to get," Llodra told reporters after his win.

Spanish captain Albert Costa admitted nothing had gone his side's way but was not giving up just yet.

‘Bad day'

"Of course, it has been a bad day. I don't have many regrets as my players gave everything they had.

"We only have a slim chance of winning and we'll try to get one point after an other. As long as there is life, there is hope."

Russia and Argentina, the winners of whom will face either France or Spain in the semi-finals, were locked at 1-1 after the opening singles in Moscow.

David Nalbandian, whose ranking has plummeted into the 150s after injury problems, gave Argentina a superb start with a 6-4, 7-6, 7-6 defeat over Nikolay Davydenko before Mikhail Youzhny outclassed Leonardo Mayer 6-3, 6-1, 6-4 in two hours six minutes.

"We both didn't play our best but I won and it was the most important thing," Nalbandian, who has been troubled with hip and leg injuries, told reporters.

"We made a lot of mistakes today, but physically I felt fine. If the match went into a fourth or even a fifth set I think I would have played with the same intensity."

Missed chances

Davydenko, who lost both tiebreaks after letting a 5-2 and 6-4 leads slip away, was left to rue missed chances.

"I don't have a lot of confidence because I didn't play a lot of matches this year," said the world No 6, who is also on a came back trail after missing nearly three months with a wrist injury.

In the bottom half of the draw the Czech Republic, without their two best players in Radek Stepanek and Wimbledon runner-up Tomas Berdych, enjoyed a sensational opening day against Chile, racing into a 2-0 lead in Coquimbo.