Andy Roddick's straight-sets victory over Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman took the United States to the Davis Cup final.
Doubles specialist Bjorkman was a last-minute replacement for Thomas Johansson, and he never threatened Roddick, who fired 16 aces.
Roddick's 6-2 7-6 6-4 win gave the US an unassailable 3-1 lead and they will now meet defending champions Russia in the final.
"It's moments like these you put in time practising for," said Roddick.
Russia reached their their second successive Davis Cup final after Igor Andreev beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3 3-6 6-0 6-3 in the fifth and deciding rubber on Sunday, giving the champions a 3-2 win over Germany.
Andreev, 24, clinched the semi-final tie on his fourth match point after two hours 39 minutes.
Kohlschreiber double-faulted on break point in the eighth game to lose the first set but broke the Russian in the sixth game of the second with a powerful backhand down the line to even the contest.
But the German began to tire as the match wore on.
Andreev raced through the third in 37 minutes, then secured the decisive break in the eighth game of the fourth set before serving out the match.
Roddick broke Bjorkman twice in the first set to clinch it 6-2 on the fast indoor carpet surface of the Gothenburg arena.
The Swede took Roddick to a tiebreak in the second, but Roddick broke Bjorkman three times to win 7-3.
"We played the world's best national team, and they proved that "
One break of serve was enough for Roddick to take the third set.
Roddick added: "I thought he played great in the second set, I could easily have suffered a slip-up."
The United States have not won the Davis Cup since 1995 when they beat Russia in the final.
"I think we have the right team now to win the Davis Cup. But me thinking it and actually doing it are two different things."
Sweden's bid to reach the final was undermined by illness and injury.
While Johansson was laid low by a stomach bug, last week their top-ranked player Robin Soderling pulled out with a wrist injury.
Gothenburg, with its extremely low bounce had been picked specifically to suit Soderling's style of play.
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"We played the world's best national team, and they proved that on all three days," said Sweden captain Mats Wilander.
"We chose a surface that we thought would suit us, but I think Roddick especially and also the Bryan brothers adapted well to it."
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