Sunday 8 April 2018 19:08, UK
World No 1 Rafael Nadal and veteran David Ferrer completed an epic Davis Cup quarter-final fightback to defeat Germany 3-2 on Sunday.
Nadal continued his impressive return from injury by dispatching fourth-ranked Alexander Zverev in straight sets 6-1 6-4 6-4 to keep Spain's hopes of staying in the competition alive and forcing a fifth and deciding rubber between Ferrer and Philipp Kohlschreiber.
Ferrer, 36, then rolled back the years to produced an inspired five-set five-hour 7-6 (7-1) 3-6 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 7-5 marathon victory against the world No 34 at the atmospheric Plaza de Toros in Valencia.
"The first set was fantastic," Nadal said. "There were times when I lost a bit of control because the match was tough, I had not competed for a long time and to maintain the level of the first set was complicated for me. "But in general it was a very important match and I am very happy."
Spain will next face holders France, who reached the semi-finals for a third year in a row after Lucas Pouille came back to beat Fabio Fognini 2-6 6-1 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 in Genoa on Sunday and clinch their tie with Italy 3-1.
"I won without playing my best tennis, those are the best types of victories," Pouille said.
Croatia also made it into the last four as Australian Open runner-up Marin Cilic crushed Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin 6-1 6-1 6-1 to seal their tie 3-1.
"From the beginning till the end I played on a rather high level; constant pressure, superior, aggressive," said former US Open champion Cilic.
They will meet the United States for a place in the final in September after they became the first country to reach the semi-finals following a doubles win by Jack Sock and Ryan Harrison against Belgian debutants Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen on Saturday.
The pair had to work hard to give the Americans an insurmountable 3-0 lead and a berth in the last four for the first time since 2012.
We're back for more tennis on Monday, April 16 for the start of the ATP Monte Carlo Rolex Masters with coverage underway from 9.30am on Sky Sports Arena.
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