Ferrer beats Fish, Spain moves into David Cup semi

Spain's David Ferrer has beaten Mardy Fish 7-5, 7-6 (7/3), 5-7, 7-6 (7/5) as Spain defeated the United States to earn a berth in the Davis Cup semi-finals. Ferrer celebrated by falling backwards on to the court when Fish's final shot sailed wide. He then leaped into the arms of Spanish team captain Albert Costa. The win gave Spain an insurmountable 3-1 lead in the Davis Cup quarter-final. "This is a historic victory for us because we have never won before in the United States," said Costa. Spain now hosts France in a semi-final on September 16-18. The last team to beat the Americans at home was Croatia six years ago. "I fought a lot and it is a very special moment for me," Ferrer said. "We practised for a week on this court. It was not the most difficult Davis Cup tie for us but it was still difficult." Ferrer went a perfect 2-0 in singles play as he beat former grand slam winner Andy Roddick on Friday. Spain went 3-0 overall in singles. Spain, who are looking for their third Davis Cup title in four years, won despite playing without world No. 2 Rafael Nadal. Ferrer said they miss Nadal but felt confident they could beat the US without him. "We know Rafa is very important for us," he said. "But we won with same team in Argentina. We will do it again." Spain had to overcome a vocal pro-American crowd to earn its first Davis Cup victory on American soil. Ferrer's win meant a planned final singles match between Roddick and Feliciano Lopez was cancelled.