Croatia eliminated the United States from the Davis Cup to reach the semi-finals for the first time since winning the competition in 2005.

The winning shot was played by Marin Cilic who beat James Blake 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-2 to gove the home side an insurmountable 3-1 lead. It's the third time the two nations have played, and Croatia have won all three.

Next up for Croatia is a home semi-final in September against Czech Republic. The Czechs advanced Sunday with a 3-2 win over 2008 runner-up Argentina.

"I think this was one of the best matches I've played," Cilic said. "I was a little tired from the five sets on Friday, and today I played a lot of it on adrenaline, the crowd was carrying me throughout the match. I really played well, I felt good on court, moved really well, and even though I lost the third set I felt I was playing good and my tactics were perfect, so I kept going and eventually broke him."

Cilic will lead Croatia in September, buoyed by an exhilarating experience over the nine sets he played. "This was one of the greatest ties I've played so far," he said. "I think I've gained a lot of experience here, everyone supported me, and it really felt good to play at home. The Czechs are also a great team, but playing at home is a little bit of an advantage, so with our team we can go through to the final."