The French Davis Cup squad completed a 5-0 whitewash of defending champions Spain asGilles Simon defeated Nicolas Almagro 76(4) 76(7) and Julien Benneteau recorded a straight sets win over Feliciano Lopez 76(3) 64 to put France into the semifinals for the first time since 2004, daviscup.com reported.

France will face Argentina, who defeated Russia 3-2 in Moscow, in September’s semifinal.

“We showed a good game. I felt great,” Argentine David Nalbandian said after the victory.

France goes into that tie having never lost to the South Americans in their four previous meetings. It has been 28 years since these two nations have met, most recently in 1982 in Buenos Aires.

Both teams could be without key players however, with Tsonga out for a few weeks with a knee injury and Juan Martin del Potro sidelined after right wrist surgery. But both captains will be hopeful that they will have all their best players available for selection.

The French Tennis Federation has about two weeks to select their venue for the semifinal against Argentina with several cities vying to host the tie. Today’s odds are on Montpellier in France’s Languedoc region and its new stadium. Whatever the venue, though, the love the French players and public have for Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is abundantly clear.