Belgium, trailing 2-0 after Friday's singles, were given a dash of hope when the Rochus brothers took 38 minutes to win a first set that was riddled with mistakes.
OSTEND: 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 on Saturday.
Belgium, trailing 2-0 after Friday's singles, were given a dash of hope when the Rochus brothers took 38 minutes to win a first set that was riddled with mistakes.
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.
Waske and Kohlmann had scored a straight-sets victory over Croatians Mario Ancic and Ivan Ljubicic in the first round in February and it was a surprise to see them play so poorly in the first set against the Belgians.
Kohlmann was too often out of position at the net and Christophe Rochus took advantage with a series of passing shots. After a run of four successive breaks, Olivier held for a 5-4 lead and his brother produced a great lob in the next game to set Belgian on their way to the crucial break.
In the second set Germany edged ahead at 3-2 after a run of breaks and Waske improved that to 4-2 with a solid service game. Olivier Rochus then missed the simplest of forehands on break-point to make the score 5-2 before Kohlmann served out.
Kohlmann crucially saved two break points on his serve in game four of the third set and that escape gave the Germans a surge of confidence.
They broke Olivier to love in game five, a double-fault from Christophe made it 2-5 and even when the Belgians got a break back it did them no good, with a wide volley from the increasingly ragged Olivier sending Germany to the set.
The third set was a breeze and Germany remain on target for what would be a fifth successive whitewash against the Belgians, after singles wins for Tommy Haas and the debut-making Philipp Kohlschreiber on Friday.
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.
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