Andy Roddick broke the world service speed record as he helped the United States into the Davis Cup semi-finals.

The world number one enjoyed a straight-sets victory over Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman to set up a clash with Belarus.

Roddick was tested early before pulling away for a 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 6-0 triumph that gave the US an unassailable 3-1 lead.

The 21-year-old Roddick fired 11 aces and won 81 points on his first serve, including a 152-miles-per-hour delivery on match point that smashed his own record of 150mph set in a first-round win over Austria in Connecticut in February.

"I knew I had it in my arm," Roddick said.

"I thought I'd take a crack at it that last game."

Bjorkman returned the blast but netted a backhand to end the match.

"I felt great out there in the third set. I wasn't even thinking," said Roddick.

"It was just kind of like my instincts took over. It just felt amazing. That's as clean as I've felt on the tennis court in a long time... maybe ever. It's only a handful of times where you feel like whatever shot you're trying is working."

Mardy Fish then saw off Thomas Johansson in the dead rubber to give the US a final 4-1 winning margin.

Belarus completed a 5-0 whitewash of Argentina, who had been weakened by recent injuries to David Nalbandian and Guillermo Coria, their leading two players.

All the same, the achievement by Belarus has been remarkable, and Max Mirnyi and Vladimir Voltchkov were in no mood to finish off with a whimper on Sunday.

Mirnyi, a fearsome player with a big serve which has earned him the nickname 'The Beast', beat Lucas Arnold 6-1 6-2, and Voltchkov defeated 20-year-old Juan Monaco 3-6 6-3 6-3.

In the other semi-final, France will meet Spain in a battle of European heavyweights after both finished off their last-eight opponents.

The semi-final ties are scheduled for September 24-26, when the 2001 champions France will take on the winners of the preceding year.

The Spanish team also finished runners-up last year, and they will be slight favourites, particularly after the way they beat Holland and considering the great depth in their squad.

Spain won 4-1 against the Dutch, wrapping up victory when French Open champion Juan Carlos Ferrero saw off Martin Verkerk, the man who he beat to register the Roland Garros triumph, in five tense sets.

Ferrero won 6-4 6-7 4-6 7-5 6-1, but he was given a real fright by Verkerk who opened up a two-sets-to-one lead and had Ferrero in trouble in the fourth.

Holland's five-set victory in the doubles, which had been completed earlier on Sunday after rain stopped play on Saturday, set up the final day's singles perfectly.

Verkerk had teamed up with John van Lottum to eke out a come-from-behind 3-6 2-6 6-3 6-2 6-2 win in the doubles against Rafael Nadal and Tommy Robredo.

But his exertions in that match were to prove costly for Verkerk as he noticeably faded the longer that Ferrero kept him out on court.

Verkerk had been trounced in the French Open final, winning just six games as Ferrero claimed an overdue grand slam title, but he gave a far stronger performance this time - until the final set.

Once Ferrero levelled the match at two sets apiece, there was only one winner of the match, and the Spaniard proceeded to race through the decider as the home side in Palma de Mallorca took an unassailable 3-1 lead.

Carlos Moya won 6-3 6-4 against Sjeng Schalken in the final 'dead' rubber to apply gloss to Spain's win.

France advanced to the final four thanks to another heroic Davis Cup display by Nicolas Escude.

Escude, the player who beat Australia's Wayne Arthurs in the decisive fifth match of the 2001 final, had too much in the tank for Switzerland's Michel Kratochvil in the crucial final rubber.

A 7-6 (7/3) 6-4 7-6 (8-6) victory for Escude sent the Swiss crashing out of the competition.

Even the best efforts of world number one Roger Federer could not save the Swiss, as they have done so often in recent seasons.

Federer was the outstanding singles player in the match, seeing off both Escude and Arnaud Clement in straight sets, with the latter of those two French players tasting defeat at his hands in Sunday's first match.

That meant the onus switched to Escude and Kratochvil, and it was the big serve of the Frenchman which proved an important factor.

That took him into a two-set lead, and although Kratochvil fought to keep the Swiss in with a chance, he was unable to take advantage of three set points in the second tie-break of the match.

Escude, who served 15 aces in the match, scooped five points in a row to recover from 6-3 down and win the tie-break 8-6.