Mahut and Herbert dominated from the start in their match against Italian duo Simone Bolelli and 2015 Australia Open doubles winner Fabio Fognini and claimed the first set by a 6-4 scoreline.

The Frenchmen then took this momentum into the second set and recorded a 6-3 victory to make it 2-0 before thrashing their Italian opponents 6-1 in the third to take a 3-0 victory overall, giving France a 2-1 lead in the tie going into the final two rubbers.

Over in Valencia, Germany saw off a valiant fightback from hosts Spain in the doubles to take a 2-1 lead in the overall tie.

It had looked like Tim Puetz and Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany would breeze through their match against Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez at the Plaza de Toros de Valencia after winning the first two sets 6-3, 6-4.

The hosts, however, took the next two set 6-3, 7-6 to force a decider and it looked like the momentum was firmly in their favour.

Unfortunately for them, Puetz and Struff recovered to take the decider 7-5 to secure a 3-2 victory overall.

The day’s other quarter-final to take place in Europe saw Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektić of Croatia beat Kazakhstani duo Timur Khabibulin and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 on home soil at the Varazdin Arena in Varazdine, meaning they now hold a 2-1 lead in the overall tie.

The United States, 2-0 up after the first day’s play, secured the tie with a day to spare on the hard courts of Nashville’s Curb Event Center as Jack Sock and Ryan Harrison won their doubles match against Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 5-7, 7-6, 7-6, 6-4.

The final two rubbers of each tie are due to take place tomorrow.