Roger Federer, the man who has won just about everything it is possible to win in top-flight tennis, is now in touching distance of the one big prize he still craves after guiding Switzerland through to the 2014 Davis Cup final against France.
The 33 year-old with more Grand Slam singles titles and more weeks as world no.1 than anyone else in the history of the sport, effectively secured Switzerland’s place in the nation’s first final in 22 years, by beating Italy’s lead player Fabio Fognini in Sunday’s first reverse singles rubber at Geneva’s Palexpo.
In front of a jubilant 18,000 strong crowd, Federer was snatched from the midst of a radio interview and victoriously chaired off court on the shoulders of Swiss captain Severin Luthi and Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka after his 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 win. However following two home ties, the Swiss must now travel to France for the final to be played November 21-23.
Many times throughout Federer’s career there have been question marks over his commitment to a team project such as the Davis Cup and the inquisitors have been the Swiss Tennis Federation, and in particular René Stammbach as well as close friend Wawrinka.
Such sentiments were forgotten as Federer propelled the Swiss to only the second Davis Cup final in their history; the first ended in a 1992 defeat to a United States dream team of Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and John McEnroe in Fort Worth, Texas.
So many times an individual performer who put his own career above everything else, Federer is now relishing being part of a collective and said: “It’s really nice to share victory with my team members. ”
Federer had dashed back to Switzerland after losing in the US Open semi-final to eventual champion Marin Cilic and won his initial singles rubber on Friday against Simone Bolelli. He then took a back seat in Saturday’s doubles and saw Italy drag themselves back into contention after falling to a 2-0 deficit on the opening day.
Although the score suggests otherwise, Federer insisted he found things far more exacting against Fognini. “I think I really struggled today,” he said. “I think Fabio struggled all weekend.
“It’s tough conditions, pretty quick court, so it’s always going to happen especially if you are not serving so well.
“I thought today wasn’t the best performance from both of us but then again you’ve got to fight with what you’ve got and in the end I’m happy to make the difference.”
With the French seeking a tenth Davis Cup title and having home advantage, Federer appreciates things are going to be tough but said: “Some of the best match-ups I’ve had have been against France, but we’re very pleased to be in the final.”
Topics: Davis Cup, geneva, Roger Federer, Switzerland, Tennis
@rogerfederer IS LEADING #SWITZERLAND TO THE WIN IN NOVEMBER @DavisCup, HE PLAYED AWESOME #TENNIS IN GENEVA http://t.co/Wgbc8SpGrJ #DavisCup