Swiss Tennis Trying to Determine Davis Cup Strategy Involving Federer

Written by: Staff on 30th September 2010

Swiss Tennis Trying to Determine Davis Cup Strategy Involving Federer

2009 Davis Cup March 2009 Roger Federer banner |

For most of Roger Federer’s stellar career, Swiss Tennis has basked in the glory of having quite possibly the greatest tennis player of all time ready to carry the nation’s Olympic flag and occasionally lend his services to the national cause in Davis Cup. But in the aftermath of relegation from the World Group, the national federation has run out of patience with the former world no.1’s ‘when it suits me’ approach to representing his country.

In the light of the embarrassing 5-0 whitewash by Kazakhstan, with Federer elsewhere and apparently resting up to revitalize himself for the remainder of the ATP World Tour this year, René Stammbach, president of Swiss Tennis, decided the time had come to speak out.

The Swiss have been awarded a first round bye in the Euro/Africa Zone Group One next March and then a week after Wimbledon in July will play whoever wins from Portugal v Slovak Republic tie. If Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka are in the team, victory can reasonably be expected but Stammbach wants some early signs of commitment.

“We need to have an answer,” said Stammbach. “Is he going to be part of the team or not. Any answer will be respected and accepted – but we want answers.”

Stammbach has ordered team Captain Severin Lüthi, up until the appointment of Paul Annacone during the U.S. Open the closest tennis confidante to Federer, to ascertain the situation. Currently Federer has only made himself available for the three of Switzerland’s last nine ties.

However he has long made it clear that paramount among his remaining ambitions, is to win an Olympic gold for Switzerland at the 2012 Olympic Games, where the tennis event will be played at Federer’s beloved Wimbledon, and lead his country to a Davis Cup title.

Stammbach said: “At the end of the day it’s always going to be his decision – we don’t have a contract with him. We’re just depending on his good will. If he wants to defend the colors of the country, that’s up to him.

“It’s not that we absolutely want to force him to say ‘yes’. We can’t expect that from him. But we would like to know what the goal is in his head – is it still to reach the semifinals or finals of the World Group or even win it?

“But if the goal has changed – and his actions lead me to believe it has – then I think we also have to readjust the goal. We cannot go on traveling with 17 people to a zonal group match. It’s not in proportion to the goal. That’s what we need to clarify.”

However Stammbach is not blinkered in seeing Federer has other priorities in his life. “Roger now has a family and he obviously wants to spend more time with them, which is absolutely understandable,” he said. “Plus he’s still concentrating on his ATP career – you have to just accept that.”

So is Stammbach disappointed by Federer’s apparent lack of Davis Cup commitment? “If the question is isolated, the answer is yes,” he said. “If you look at it in a broader context, then I am still disappointed but it is understandable. Don’t forget what he has done for tennis in general and tennis in Switzerland in particular – how can you be angry with a guy like that? No one else has done so much for tennis.”

Topics: 2012 Olympic Games, Atp World Tour, Confidante, Davis Cup, Olympic Flag, Olympic Games, Olympic Gold, Paul Annacone, Roger Federer, Slovak Republic, Stanislas Wawrinka, Stellar Career, Swiss Tennis, Team Victory, Tennis Event, Tennis Player, Whitewash, Wimbledon, World Group, Zone Group