WRAPUP 1-Tennis-Spain survive, U.S. and Argentina dumped out

* Champions Spain to meet Israel in semi-final

* Croatia dump out the U.S. and will host Czechs in semis

* Czech Republic upset 2008 finalists Argentina

By Pritha Sarkar

LONDON, July 12 (Reuters) - Juan Carlos Ferrero was the unlikely hero for champions Spain as he rode a wave of patriotic fervour to salvage their Davis Cup hopes on Sunday.

While Ferrero was spurred on by a frenzied crowd to ensure Spain squeezed into the semi-finals with a 3-2 win over Germany, there was no escape route for Davis Cup heavyweights United States and Argentina who were both unceremoniously dumped out.

The Americans, champions a record 32 times, had to win both Sunday's reverse singles to reach the last four but Marin Cilic brought a swift end to their challenge when he beat James Blake 6-3 6-3 4-6 6-2 to give Croatia an unbeatable 3-1 lead.

At least Juan Martin del Potro had made sure Argentina's contest against the Czech Republic would go down to the wire when he trumped Tomas Berdych 6-4 6-4 6-4 in the first reverse singles to level the tie at 2-2 in Ostrava.

Although Del Potro won both his singles rubbers, the Czechs proved that the Davis Cup was more than a one-man show.