Germany booked their place in the Davis Cup quarter-finals on Saturday as Tommy Haas and Philipp Kohlschreiber paired up to give the hosts an unassailable 3-0 lead over Spain.
The German pair needed nearly three-and-a-half hours to seal a 7-6 (7-5) 6-7 (9-11) 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 over Spain’s Fernando Verdasco and David Marrero in the World Group clash after Kohlschreiber and Florian Mayer had given the hosts a 2-0 overnight lead in Frankfurt.
The Germans will now face France away in the last eight on April 4-6 after the French took a 3-0 lead over Australia in their tie on Saturday in Mouilleron-le-Captif.
In a tight match, the first three sets all went to tie-breakers with the Spanish pair battling to keep their team in the tie as the guests were without world number one Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer, ranked fifth in the world.
Kohlschreiber stepped in for Daniel Brands in a tactical switch and the move paid off allowing Germany to reach the quarter-finals for the first time since 2011.
In Friday’s singles, Kohlschreiber got the hosts off to a good start in Frankfurt with a comfortable 6-2 6-4 6-2 win over Roberto Bautista Agut.
Mayer then dug deep to win a five-set thriller against Feliciano Lopez, needing nearly four hours, to win 7-6 (8-6) 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 5-7 6-3 to put Germany 2-0 up.
Left-hander Lopez fired down 29 aces, but Mayer held his nerve and pushed through the pain barrier.
He later revealed he had needed medication for a painful shoulder in just during the match.
Meanwhile, Switzerland sealed a quarter-final berth when a win in Saturday’s doubles gave them an unbeatable 3-0 lead over last season’s finalists Serbia.
The all-important point was delivered by the Swiss pairing of Marco Chiudinelli and Michael Lanmer, who saw off Nenad Zimonjic and Filip Krajinovic 6-6 (7-3) 3-6 6-6 (7-2) 6-2.
The Swiss took control of the tie in Novi Sad on Friday when Roger Federer, yet to add the Davis Cup trophy to his array of silverware, and freshly crowned Australian champion Stanislas Wawrinka, won both of their singles.
Federer, a last-minute addition to the team, beat 268th-ranked Ilija Bozoljar in three sets, with Wawrinka, the new world number three, needing four sets to dispatch 102nd ranked Dusan Lajovic.
Serbia, the 2010 winners, were up against it with their side weakened by the absence of Novak Djokovic and Janko Tipsarevic.
The winner will face either Kazakhstan or Belgium who are playing in Astana, with the hosts leading 2-1.