Federer Being Pursued To Play Davis Cup

Written by: Staff on 12th April 2013

Federer Being Pursued To Play Davis Cup

epa03619683 Roger Federer of Switzerland returns a shot during his match against Ivan Dodig of Croatia at the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, California, USA, 11 March 2013. Federer won the match. EPA/PAUL BUCK |

Roger Federer’s occasional obligation to Davis Cup is something that has long concerned his fellow Swiss and now his close friend and countryman Marco Chiudinelli has appealed for the man with more Grand Slam singles titles and weeks ranked as no.1 than any other to show more commitment to his country.

Rene Stammbach, president of the Swiss Tennis Federation since 2006 has been a regular critic of Federer’s dedication to the Davis Cup cause.

Then earlier this year another of Federer’s compatriots Stanislas Wawrinka criticized the decision of the reigning Wimbledon champion not to play the World Group opener against the trophy holders Czech Republic. The Swiss lost 3-2 and will now host a September play-off tie against Ecuador to preserve World Group status.

Chiudinelli appealed for Federer’s involvement in the tie and said: “Obviously everyone on the team, including myself, are disappointed that he does not help us more often in these early rounds.

“I always regret that he is not playing more. Everyone on the team regrets it. But there is nothing we can do about it.”

Federer employs Swiss Davis Cup captain Severin Luthi as one of his co-coaches alongside Paul Annacone and said several years ago that one of his unfulfilled tennis ambitions was to win the trophy with his countrymen.

The 31 year-old normally makes himself available for September play-offs but this year he is playing on a hugely reduced schedule and so far Federer has made no mention of facing Ecuador.

Chiudinelli said. “He played last year. And it doesn’t mean that just because he plays, we will win every time. We’ve lost series with him in the team.

“We lost against Czech Republic in 2007 with Roger. We lost last year against the United States, at home, with Roger. It’s not a guarantee of success but obviously we have more chances if he’s with us.

“He’s always honest about his decisions. We know a few months in advance. There has never been much room for discussion.”

©Daily Tennis News Wire

Topics: Davis Cup, Paul Annacone, Rene Stammbach, Roger Federer, Severin Luthi, Stanislas Wawrinka, Swiss tennis news