Italy was first through to the Davis Cup quarterfinals after beating weakened visitor Switzerland 3-0 on Saturday.
France was close to joining the Italians, at the expense of Canada in Guadeloupe.
A Novak Djokovic-led Serbia surprisingly fell behind 2-1 at home to Kazakhstan after he and Nenad Zimonjic lost their doubles to Andrey Golubev and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-3, 7-6 (3), 7-5. It was the second notable cup win for Golubev and Nedovyesov, who beat Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka in doubles in 2014.
Andy Murray won his second point for Britain when he and brother Jamie won in straight sets to lead Japan 2-1, giving Murray a chance to clinch the tie on Sunday against Kei Nishikori.