Argentina's Monaco tops France's Simon for 1-1 Davis Cup tie

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Juan Monaco defeated Gilles Simon 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-4 on Friday to give Argentina a 1-1 tie with France after the first two singles

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina -- Juan Monaco defeated Gilles Simon 7-6 (2), 6-2, 6-4 on Friday to give Argentina a 1-1 tie with France after the first two singles matches in the Davis Cup quarterfinals.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga won the first singles, defeating the host's Carlos Berlocq 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 5-7, 6-2.

France has beaten Argentina in all five previous Davis Cup showdowns. The winner faces Kazakhstan or the Czech Republic in the semifinals. The Argentines are aiming to win their first Davis Cup title.

Simon was filling in for Richard Gasquet (injured right ankle). But Monaco delivered when he had to, winning the first set in front of noisy home fans at the outdoor clay venue of Parque Roca on the outskirts of the Argentine capital.

Berlocq got back into the early match in the fourth set by converting two of 10 break-point chances. But Tsonga responded by breaking twice to close out the match.