Juan Carlos Ferrero was the unlikely hero for champions Spain as he rode a wave of patriotic fervor to salvage their Davis Cup hopes on Sunday.
While Ferrero was spurred on by a frenzied crowd to ensure Spain squeezed into the semifinals with a 3-2 win over Germany, there was no escape route for Davis Cup heavyweights United States and Argentina who were both unceremoniously dumped out.
The Americans, champions a record 32 times, had to win both Sunday's reverse singles to reach the last four but Marin Cilic brought a swift end to their challenge when he beat James Blake 6-3, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 to give Croatia an unbeatable 3-1 lead.
At least Juan Martin del Potro had made sure Argentina's contest against the Czech Republic would go down to the wire when he trumped Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 in the first reverse singles to level the tie at 2-2 in Ostrava.
Although Del Potro won both his singles rubbers, the Czechs proved that the Davis Cup was more than a one-man show.
Radek Stepanek had been troubled by a knee injury but appeared to be in a trance as he barely put a foot wrong in a 7-6, 6-3, 6-2 win over Juan Monaco to condemn the 2008 runners-up to a 3-2 defeat.
"It is unbelievable... I did not have energy to spare and tried to collect one point after another," a dazed Stepanek said.
While the Czechs will travel to Croatia for the semis in September, Spain will be eager to make home advantage count again when they host Israel, who completed a 4-1 win over Russia.
Astonishingly, former world No 1 Ferrero could be missing from the line-up as he was only drafted into the team as a last-minute replacement since world No 2 Rafael Nadal and 22nd-ranked David Ferrer were both out injured.
Such is the depth in the Spanish team, Ferrero was playing in the competition for the first time in four years and he made sure his appearance would be a memorable one since Spain were in danger of suffering their first home defeat in 16 ties.
Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber survived a stirring Fernando Verdasco fightback in the first reverse singles to win 6-4, 6-2, 1-6, 2-6, 8-6 in Marbella to level the tie at 2-2.
But captain Albert Costa's gamble to play Ferrero in the decider instead of Tommy Robredo, who lost in straight sets to Kohlschreiber on Friday, paid off as the 29-year-old dispatched Andreas Beck 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.
As Beck shovelled the ball long on match point, the capacity crowd jumped to their feet and Ferrero leapt into the air before he was hoisted on to team mate Feliciano Lopez's shoulder for a lap of honour.
(Reuters via China Daily July 14, 2009)
