Paul-Henri Mathieu's Davis Cup nightmare returned to haunt him on Sunday as France lost the deciding rubber in their quarter-final with 2002 winners Russia.

It was Mathieu who threw away a two-set lead to lose the final rubber in the 2002 final in Paris with Mikhail Youzhny his then conqueror.

This year it was left to Mathieu to play the decider once more with this time Igor Andreev his opponent.

Andreev prevailed easily 6-0 6-2 6-1 to salvage a remarkable win for the Russians who had trailed overnight.

Earlier Nikolay Davydenko had levelled the match by beating Richard Gasquet 6-2 4-6 6-2 6-1.

Russia will play Croatia in the semi-final after they comfortably defeated Romania 4-1 in Split.

The winners of that clash will face the winner of the other last-four match, to be contested by Argentina and Slovakia.

David Nalbandian picked a good time to exact a measure of revenge against Lleyton Hewitt of Australia in Sydney.

Having lost his last three matches with Hewitt, including the 2002 Wimbledon final, Nalbandian posted an emphatic 6-2 6-4 6-4 victory as Argentina recorded a surprising 4-1 win.

After teaming with Mariano Puerta in doubles on Saturday to give Argentina a 2-1 lead, Nalbandian sent the Australians home with a scintillating display of grasscourt tennis. With a known dislike between the two following their Australian Open encounter in Melbourne, Nalbandian was flawless while Hewitt committed 45 unforced errors.

All that was left was for Guillermo Coria to apply the finishing touches with a 6-3 7-6 (13-11) win over Peter Luczak to give Argentina a convincing win.

Australia, who have won 28 Davis Cup titles, had rallied from a 1-2 deficit five times, most recently in the first round against Switzerland in 2000.

Argentina will face Slovakia in the semi-finals after their victory over Holland was sealed by Dominik Hrbaty with a 6-3 6-1 3-0 triumph over Peter Wessels, who quit in the third set with a shoulder injury.

The Slovaks won the final rubber to complete a 4-1 victory and reach the last four for the first time.