THE CANADIAN PRESS

VANCOUVER -- Canada failed to advance to the Davis Cup quarter-finals Sunday as France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat surprise substitute Frank Dancevic in straight sets.

Tsonga, the world's sixth-ranked player, prevailed 6-4, 6-4, 6-1, over the feisty 178th-ranked Niagara Falls, Ont., native, who was a late replacement for Canada's injured top singles player Milos Raonic.

The win gave France an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five competition with one match to play.

France will take on the United States in the World Group quarter-finals in April. Canada must play a World Group playoff tie in September to try to retain its spot in the elite 16-team group for 2013.

Dancevic, 31, got the call to play his first match of the weekend after Raonic pulled out due to a knee injury.

Canada, ranked 14th in the world, needed a win in the reverse singles match to keep its victory hopes alive. But the upset was not to be after Dancevic lost the opening four games of the match and then surrendered leads twice in the second set.

Dancevic signalled his competitiveness early as he took 10 points to deuce or advantage in the first game. Tsonga's powerful serve was not a problem for Dancevic, but he struggled at times to counter Tsonga's strong cross-court forehands.

In the opening set, Dancevic rallied and pulled within 5-4 on a service winner. But Tsonga won the next game on love to take the set.

In the second set, the Canadian underdog led 3-2 and 4-3, but allowed Tsonga to come back twice. The Frenchman took a 5-4 lead after he landed a long forehand on the line. Dancevic challenged the call but lost upon a review.

Before the next game, Dancevic ignited the flag-waving crowd at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre by flexing his biceps while changing his shirt and then pumping his fist as he took his spot on the court.

But Tsonga then clinched the game and second set with an ace and cruised through the third set.

Raonic, the world No. 29 from Thornhill, Ont., experienced some pain in his knee after Saturday's doubles match.

The lineup change was announced about an hour before play was scheduled to begin Sunday. Rules required the switch to be made within 60 minutes of the start of the match.

"After our doubles match (Saturday) I consulted with my team, and a team of doctors regarding some pain in my knee," Raonic said in a release. "After extensive discussions, the doctors determined it is not in my best interest to play today.

"We are continuing to explore the reasoning behind the pain, and taking it day by day. Obviously I am extremely disappointed to not be able to play for my team today."

Both countries picked up a win in the opening singles matches Friday. France pulled ahead when Michael Llodra and Julien Benneteau beat Raonic and Toronto's Daniel Nestor 7-6 (1), 7-6 (2), 6-3.

Once Canada's top singles player, Dancevic has dropped to third in the country behind Raonic and 115th-ranked Pospisil. He has spent the last year trying to rebuild his game.

In 2011, he became the first Canadian to qualify for all four Grand Slam events in the same calendar year.

Sunday's appearance was his 27th Davis Cup match. He now sports a 13-14 record, including both singles and doubles, in 16 ties. His singles record dropped to 10-14 and he is 3-0 in doubles.

Dancevic's most memorable Davis Cup moment came in 2003 in Calgary when he defeated Brazil's Flavio Saretta to give Canada only its second berth in World Group play.

But he could not repeat the magic against the powerful French.

Vancouver resident Vasek Pospisil was expected to play Benneteau in the final match later Sunday.