Germany’s doubles pairing Jan-Lennard Struff and Tim Puetz pulled off a shock five-set win over Spain’s Feliciano Lopez and Marc Lopez to give Germany a 2-1 lead in their Davis Cup quarter-final.

The Germans raced into a two-set lead but the hosts fought back to force a fifth set at a packed Plaza de Toros in Valencia.

Spain squandered five break-points in the eighth game of the final set and they paid the price for that miss when Marc Lopez, drafted in to replace an injured Pablo Carreno Busta, was broken three games later.

Germany pounced on their chance and served out to win the 6-3 6-4 3-6 6-7 (4-7) 7-5 marathon in four hours 23 minutes.

World No.4 Alexander Zverev could secure Germany’s spot in the semi-finals if he is able to snap world No.1 Nadal’s record 23-match winning streak in the team competition.

David Ferrer will play either Philipp Kohlschreiber or Struff in the final rubber.

In Nashville, Jack Sock and Ryan Harrison put the United States into the last four for the first time since 2012 by beating Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 5-7 7-6 (7-1) 7-6 (7-3) 6-4.

The doubles took the US to an unassailable 3-0 lead.

John Isner and Sam Querrey set up the doubles match for the clincher by winning both their singles matches

Holders France took a 2-1 lead in their tie with Italy as Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut comfortably beat Simone Bolelli and Fabio Fognini 6-4 6-3 6-1.

Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic overcame Kazakhstan’s Timur Khabibulin and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-7 (2-7) 6-4 6-4 6-2 to hand Croatia a 2-1 lead.