Gasquet, ranked No. 10, skipped Friday's singles with a blister on his right hand and a sore left knee. And even though Gasquet shocked Roddick in last year's Wimbledon quarterfinals, Gasquet told French captain Guy Forget he didn't want to play Roddick.
"He felt Roddick was playing too good for him and he had probably no chance," Forget said.
Gasquet said he thought the 12th-ranked Mathieu, who wasted two match points before losing to Blake on Friday, had the better shot to beat Roddick.
"Paul-Henri was in better shape than me," Gasquet said. "I hadn't played on the court."
But the 12th-ranked Mathieu proved no match for Roddick. He broke Mathieu five times and won in just more than 90 minutes. He had 30 aces in a straight-sets win over Michael Llodra on Friday and never faced a break point against Mathieu.
"I did not have a broken leg or an arm, so I'm going to go to the court and give it my best," Mathieu said. "But Andy was too good for me today."
Roddick wasn't broken in two matches on the quick, indoor hard-court suited to his style. It continued an exceptional month for Roddick in which he beat the tour's top three players -- Roger Federer, Nadal and Novak Djokovic. Winning 36 of 41 points on his first serve, the result may not have been much different if Gasquet was his opponent.
"I don't think it would have mattered, the way I played today," Roddick said.
The loss, the fourth straight time France has bowed out in the quarterfinals, left questions about whether Forget will select the temperamental Gasquet again.
"Even the way he talks about himself and his game, you feel like he's not really confident," Forget said.
U.S. captain Patrick McEnroe faces no such concerns. It marked a record 10th straight time Roddick, Blake and the Bryans have played together. And despite having to face Spain on clay, a surface that always has frustrated Americans, they'll all gather again in September.
"I've been very lucky as the captain of this team," McEnroe said. "A lot of people say, 'Hey you think these guys are still going to want to play?' To me it was never a question, because these guys just love it. They're so committed."
In Moscow, Russia reached the Davis Cup semifinals for the fourth consecutive year, eliminating the Czech Republic when injured Tomas Berdych quit during the fifth set against Nikolay Davydenko. Russia won the Davis Cup in 2002 and 2006 and was runner-up to the U.S. last year.
In Buenos Aires, Argentina, the Argentines ousted Sweden behind David Nalbandian's five-set victory over Robin Soderling. This was Argentina's 12th straight Davis Cup victory at home since 1998.
At Bremen, Germany, Fernando Verdasco of Spain beat Michael Berrer, and Nicolas Kiefer averted a German shutout by downing Feliciano Lopez.
(Agencies April 14, 2008)