Marion Bartoli gave the French a 1-0 lead in the
best-of-three series when she beat Anabel Madinah Garrigues 6-2, 6-4 in the
women's singles and Gasquet ensured France would finish at the top of Group B
when he fended off Verdasco. The doubles match was scrapped.
France last reached the final of the international mixed-team
competition in 1998, when Mary Pierce and Cedric Pioline lost to Slovakia.
Bartoli, a 2007 Wimbledon finalist, has had two straight-set
wins in singles against Australia and Spain after losing a tight three-set
opener to Li Na.
"I'm hoping this kind of level will take me far this
year," Bartoli said. "I had a good season in 2011 but I want to get
even better in 2012." The Australian team of Lleyton Hewitt and Jarmila
Gajdisova won for the first time with a 2-1 victory over China, which finished
the tournament with three losses in Group B.
Li gave China the lead when she beat Gajdisova 6-3, 6-2, but
Hewitt leveled with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Wu in men's singles. The Australians
combined to win the deciding mixed doubles 8-5 in a pro set.
The Group A finalist will be determined Friday, with
top-seeded Czech Republic — featuring women's No. 2 Petra Kvitova and men's No.
7 Tomas Berdych — favored to advance. The Czech pair need to beat a Denmark
team containing No. 1-ranked Caroline Wozniacki and Frederik Nielsen to
progress.
Gasquet has won all three of his singles matches and said
he's confident ahead of Saturday's final.
"It's very good for me to play these kind of guys. They
are the best of the world so I am really happy to win," Gasquet said.
"I am playing good, my serve is good and physical too and I'm in no pain,
so I hope to win the final."