Germany, Sweden and US reach semis

Germany reached the Davis Cup semi-finals for the first time since 1995 when Michael Kohlmann and Alexander Waske beat Olivier and Christophe Rochus 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-1 to give the team a 3-0 winning lead yesterday.

Belgium, trailing 2-0 after Friday's singles, were given a dash of hope when the Rochus brothers took 38 minutes to win the first set.

The German duo soon settled their nerves, however, and with Waske becoming ever more dominant they went on to claim a comfortable victory in two hours 24 minutes on the indoor clay court.

Germany, who won the last of their three Davis Cups in 1993, will go on to face the winners of the France-Russia tie in September's semi-finals.

Sweden eliminated last year's runners-up Argentina after a doubles win gave them an unassailable 3-0 lead.

Jonas Bjorkman and Thomas Johansson beat David Nalbandian and Guillermo Canas 4-6 7-6 6-2 6-3 on an indoor carpet court to put Sweden through to the semi-finals for the first time since 2001.

They avenged last year's 5-0 first-round defeat on clay in Argentina, setting up a semi-final against the United States who took an unassailable 3-0 lead against Spain last night.

Other result - Russia lead France 2-1.