July 11, 2011 -- Updated 1228 GMT (2028 HKT)
David Ferrer is lifted above his teammate's shoulders after his win over Mardy Fish on Sunday.
(CNN) -- David Ferrer confirmed Spain's place in the semifinals of the Davis Cup on Sunday, with a victory over world number eight Mardy Fish which sent the U.S. out of the competition.
Ferrer, ranked six in the world, claimed a 7-5 7 6 (7-3) 5-7 7-6 (7-5) triumph in a grueling match which lasted four hours and 11 minutes to seal Spain's 3-1 victory.
The 29-year-old's success crushed a potential comeback from the home team in front of the Texas crowd, after identical twin brothers Bob and Mike Bryan, 11-time grand slam winners, defeated Marcel Granolliers and Fernando Verdasco in the doubles rubber.
With four-time champions Spain having built an unassailable lead in the best-of-five match, the final contest between Andy Roddick, playing in his hometown, and Feliciano Lopez was abandoned.
"The match was very tough," Ferrer told the tournament's official web site. "I was very strong mentally. It's a moment that is very, very special."
U.S. captain Jim Courier refused to criticize his players despite the disappointing defeat.
"We ask one thing of our guys and that is to leave it on the court and we succeeded from that standpoint," Courier, a four-time major champion, said.
"We had a lot of chances, a lot of looks, and we were ahead in a lot of sets. But that's never a guarantee against players that are so strong ... Spain is probably the deepest nation out there today in men's tennis."
Spain captain Albert Costa agreed with Courier's assessment of his squad, and hailed the group of players at his disposal as "unbelievable."
"I think momentum is that we have a generation of players that is unbelievable and it's going to be very difficult to repeat," Costa said. "We have to try to take advantage of this and win as much as we can."
Spain will now face France for a place in the final, after Guy Forget's team saw off the challenge of Germany with a 4-1 win.
Elsewhere, Argentina secured an emphatic 5-0 success over Kazakhstan, while 2010 winners Serbia, with newly-crowned Wimbledon champion and world number one Novak Djokovic among their ranks, advanced beyond Sweden 4-1.
Credit: CNN (www.cnn.com)
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