Brisbane, Australia  - France fell to a double disaster Saturday on the men's side of the Brisbane International, with both Paul-Henri Mathieu and Richard Gasquet crashing out at the semi-final stage.

Third seed Fernando Verdasco, hero of Spain's Davis Cup final over Argentina in November, dispatched Mathieu 6-2, 6-1, while notoriously irritating Czech Radek Stepanek wore down seventh seed Richard Gasquet 2-6, 6-2, 6-4.