How to watch the Davis Cup semis live

(AFP PHOTO THIERRY ZOCCOLAN)

The penultimate matches in this year's Davis Cup tennis tournament are to be held in Lyon, France and Belgrade, Serbia over a long weekend of September 17-19. Having knocked out defending champions Spain in the previous round, France now face Argentina, while Serbia host 2009 finalists Czech Republic.

While the indoor hardcourt matches will be broadcast on TV, it is also possible to watch in person with tickets priced from €3 in Belgrade and €33 in Lyon.

For the Belgrade Arena's home team, Men's Singles number 3 Novak Djokovic and Me'ns Doubles number 3 Nenad Zimonjic are joined by Vitor Troicki and Janko Tipsarevic, both inside the ATP singles top 50. The Czech Republic, 2009 finalists, are represented by Tomas Berdych (Singles number 7) and Radek Stepanek (Singles number 30) along with with Jan Hajek and Ivo Minar.

The Belgrade matches start at 3pm CEST (6am PDT, 9am EDT, 2pm BST, 10pm Japan) on September 17-18 and an hour earlier on the 19th. Tickets range from 300 Serbian dinars (€3) for 2nd Category seating on the Saturday to 3,000RSD (€30) for 1st Category on Friday or Sunday. Live TV broadcasts are confirmed for Serbia's RTS, the Czech Rep's Czech TV, and Germany's GIP channel.

In Lyon, eastern France, the home crowd will be cheering on Gael Monfils (Singles number 19), Michael Llodra (Singles number 35 / Doubles number 27), Richard Gasquet (number 38), and Gilles Simon (number 42) who together knocked out defending champions Spain in July. Also looking for a place in the 2010 finals will be Argentina's Juan Monaco (Singles number 32), David Nalbandian (ranked 33), Horacio Zeballos (Doubles number 43), and Eduardo Schwank (ranked 57/54).

Days 1 and 3 in at the Palais des Sports de Gerland start at 1:30pm CEST (6:30am PDT, 9:30am EDT, 12.30pm BST, 10.30pm Japan), and at 3pm CEST on Day 2. Tickets range from €33 in Saturday's 3rd Category seats up to €67 for 1st Category views on Friday and Sunday - there are also box seats offered both with or without hospitality.

The TV schedule for France vs Argentina is much more comprehensive: live for domestic viewers on the France TV channel with Canal Sport+ picking up Day 1's live match and replays for Days 2 and 3; all three are covered live in Argentina (TyC Sports), Brazil (Globosat), India (Neo Sports), and Singapore (StarHub Racquet); channels in Australia, Belgium, Malaysia, Portugal, the Philippines, Serbia, and the USA are broadcasting replays or a mixture of live and delayed games.

The Davis Cup Finals are planned for December 3-5, with the host country pre-determined by the International Tennis Federation or, in the case of an Argentina vs Serbia final, decided by lots. For more information about TV coverage, see the respective match previews at the Davis Cup website.