WILLKOMMEN DAVIS CUP IN DER SCHWEIZ

                                                     Team Switzerland with the 2014 Davis Cup title                             Image Courtesy: Guardian

Switzerland becomes only the 14th country to lift the prestigious World cup of men's tennis - Davis Cup. This is a fitting considering the Swiss team boasts of arguably one of the best tennis players ever. If winning the Davis Cup title is a single's challenge, then Federer would have found a way to win this annual event much before. Unlike the many singles titles he has won, Davis Cup is a team event. No matter how well you play, there are moments you sit tight, watch the action, cheering your teammate and hope he wins it for you, for the team and for the country.

With Stan Wawrinka playing as well as he ever did, Switzerland had two players going into the finals - who could dictate terms on their own at crucial phases of a game. They have tasted glory before for Switzerland - Remember Beijing Olympics in 2008? The iconic scene is still fresh in my memory. It was Stan and Roger show six years ago and now in 2014, it is the same story.

DAVIS CUP AND SWITZERLAND

The 2014 Davis Cup finals happened to be the second time Switzerland qualifying for the title showdown. Turn the clock back to 1992, a golden year for Swiss tennis. Marc Rosset, surprisingly and more impressively took the single's gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics - a feat which has not been emulated by a Swiss player till date. On back of a remarkable success on the clay courts of Barcelona, Marc Rosset and his teammate Jakob Hlasek competed against the mighty and talented bunch of players from the United States for the Davis Cup title. The limited resources of Switzerland hurt them dearly as they lost the finals tie 1-3 to a team which had Pete Sampras and John McEnroe play doubles while Andre Agassi and Jim Courier played singles. The sole consolation had to be Rosset's win over Jim Courier which was settled in five sets.

Marc Rosset (left) and Jakob Hlasek did their best in 1992 to win the Davis Cup and finished second to USA

A VICTORY FOR THE COUNTRY

Switzerland as a country is complexly united and never allow their individual differences to come in the way of being a single entity. While individuals might go and achieve great things, they are seldom secluded and revered or given a red carpet treatment. Yes, they are acknowledged as celebrities and that's where the distinction ends. Even these 'celebrities' are foremost Swiss citizens and here people as a group always takes priority over individuals. So, quite fittingly Davis cup victory is something this tiny country will be proud of, as the honour is bestowed to 'Switzerland' and not to individuals. 

A STEP AWAY FROM HISTORY - FEDERER AND THE SWISS DAVIS CUP TEAM

The dream team-duo of  Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka have steered the Swiss national team to Davis Cup finals - only their second appearance. The dream which remained distant for more than twenty years is finally within their grasp.

Swiss Tennis has made constant headlines in the last two decades; starting with Marc Rosset's incredible gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics. Then came the talented kid on the tennis world to grace women's tennis - Martina Hingis. It was Hingis who took Switzerland and its tennis programme to great heights before her career came to an end prematurely. The mantle was then passed on to Roger Federer and he has exceeded everyone's expectations and went on to become the best athlete his country has ever produced and one of the best tennis has ever witnessed.

Roger Federer has won almost everything that has to be won in tennis singles, barring Olympic Gold singles and Davis Cup. He was always a lone man who pushed his team and on more than one occasion the dreams of Davis Cup were weakened by the absence of a solid #2 singles player. With the progress Wawrinka has had so far in 2014, the combo 'FEDERINKA' looked favourites coming into the semi-finals clash against Italy and so far they have emulated Switzerland's best performance at the Davis Cup.

A CLASS APART

Before the last day, the tie between Switzerland and Italy was 2-1 in favour of the home side, Switzerland. The Geneva indoor stadium at Palexpo was a sea of red and white fans filled with great enthusiasm. The weather was perfect and the buzz on those temporary seating - constant cheers, foot tapping, horns being blown and the loud vocal support whenever Roger Federer was pushed to a corner with his opponent on a break point was just too much for the Italians to handle. It showed in the way they played.

Federer started slowly and it took some time before we saw him bring out his discipline executing those volleys unsettling Fabio Fognini and forced him make those unforced errors. Within no time, the Swiss ace had taken the first set 6-2.

In the second set, it was the same story expect that Fognini held his serve one more than he did in the first set. A little too easy perhaps for the 17-time Grand slam winner as he won the second set 6-3.

Fognini played some of his best game in the third set. It was 'the set' as far as Italy was concerned. Perhaps, it was too much to expect Fognini to outclass Federer - but what if he took the match to the fifth set? Federer is no longer in his twenties and once you are in fifth set, it is anybody's game. Fognini took the lead 6-5 and Federer did well enough to force a tie breaker.

I was given an impression, Federer was not at his best. The only motivation that seemed to him was to steer the team into the finals - something which he has never managed to achieve in his illustrious career. This was his and Switzerland's best chance since their semi-finals appearance in 2003.

In the tiebreaker, Federer was in a different zone and the intent was seen as he did not let the match to slip or go the distance. He brought on all his skills and aggression to the court which saw him take the lead 6-4 in the tiebreak. One point separated the place in the finals. Crowd is busy engrossed in their songs and praises while the umpire had to beg once, twice for their silence.

The silence was short-lived as the crowd went berserk, so does the Swiss master and the entire Swiss Davis cup team. This was a result they had never experienced previously and soon the band of brothers took the central stage, waving to all sections of the crowd. Federer was ferried held high across the courts by Wawrinka and their coach Severin Lüti - a sight of happiness, relief and an opportunity to win the elusive Davis Cup title.

When it came to lifting Wawrinka, he ran away before making his intentions clear to his mates about him not in a mood to be carried around.

Roger Federer is ranked third and Wawrinka fourth in the ATP rankings currently. Wawrinka's famous win at this year's Australian Open and Federer's consistent show has ensured Switzerland to field two of the best singles players on the circuit. The rest of the team are relatively unknown, who in spite of playing on the circuit for close to a decade, have rarely made any significant contribution.

The quarterfinals against Kazakhstan early this year was a narrow escape which needed Switzerland to win both the reverse singles matches to enter semi-finals. And finals will be even greater challenge with three of the top 20 ranked players feature in the French team.

The crowd which came in great numbers to witness the Swiss team knew there is a not a lot of tennis left in Federer's career. His personal life with four children and a lovely wife is a huge incentive for him not to keep on playing. One fine day, he might just take a call of calling it quits. A world cup in tennis is just around the corner and what a wonderful addition it would be to his career. For Swiss, it is their country that comes first and then individuals - though it is only fair from what we witnessed, Swiss love Roger! and they will root him and his teammates to win their first Davis Cup title.

There will be people - a lot of them from Switzerland who will be queuing up in France to witness this historic moment unfold. The last time these two countries met was in 2004 quarterfinals - in which the Swiss team lost. That was ten years ago and Switzerland back then did not boast itself of having two solid singles players. Things look different and I must say, now  they look favourites.

In 1992, the Swiss team was blown away by the sheer talent of the US Davis cup team. Jim Courier, Andre Agassi playing the singles while John McEnroe and Pete Sampras partnered in doubles.

Will it be too much on the shoulders of Federer and Wawrinka when compared with a better all-round team of France led by Tsonga with Richard Gasquet and Monfils in the squad?

While in the singles, the Swiss appear sharper - but on a given day these three players from France are more than capable to beat the Swiss stars. It will not be a one-sided final. However, emotionally all eyes will be on Switzerland and in particular Roger Federer! 

Marathon Man vs Raging Bull - Federer vs Nadal at the Majors

Rafael Nadal lost in the final hurdle of Australian Open 2014 to a Swiss tennis player. It was not Roger Federer for once! Stainslas Wawrinka was the underdog going into the final men's singles match and at the end of it his achievements echoed the feelings of "Yo, Adrian, I did it". This was no Hollywood and Wawrinka's celebrations was nowhere close to the exuberance 'Rocky Balboa'  exhibited on-screen in Rocky II.

Important question - If Nadal were to be 100% fit, would Wawrinka be a threat to Nadal and his power play? Make no mistake the end result did appear as an upset and even with Wawrinka's confidence brimming sky high, it would have been a herculean effort to win against the quality player like Nadal. In fact age-wise, Nadal is a year younger to the reigning Australian Open champion; so there is no question of young legs over powering the might. In Wawrinka's defence, he is probably playing the best tennis of his life at the moment and his win must not be treated as a total surprise.

I rest the case of Wawrinka here and introduce another champion, his compatriot Roger Federer. It is interesting to note that, Federer this year was playing in his 57^th Grand Slam event since Australian Open 2000. He is currently in his 15^th year of playing non-stop at the premier events of tennis. That's in the level of a iron man if not a marathon man.

Top stuff! considering the number of events conducted around the four major tournaments and throw in few national tournaments in between, you are looking at a very packed and physically demanding schedule. He will be 33 years by the time he would be playing his first match at the US Open and honestly going by the past record, only few players have managed to win singles title at that age. His peak years are behind him and all he has with him are the years of experience and the inner desire to play tennis. He loves playing tennis - a fact pretty evident as he does not seem to be bogged down with legacy and terms like 'retiring on a high'.

Now coming to the pocket dynamo, the enigmatic Nadal and his performances at the Grand Slams. He turns 28 this June and he already has 13 titles to his credit - including French Open a record 8 times (Whoa, that's out of this world stuff!!!). In spite of all his muscles, his penchant for baseline tennis and what not (ask the ladies), I have a problem with him when it comes to consistency.

It is not that Nadal is extraordinary, even Federer had 15 titles to his credit when he was 28 years of age. And going by the trend in tennis, it is a lot difficult to win as age advances. This is one sport where there is no replacement for physical demands. Experience and skills can guide you in crunch moments - if one is not fit to run around and constantly play the strokes with ease and precise, you are asking for trouble.

Since the time Nadal has made his Grand Slam debut - forty three Grand Slam tournaments have taken place and he has missed six tournaments during this period. He has managed to play a meagre 13 major tournaments in a row. 

On the court Nadal exerts himself to such a degree that he is prone to injuries - a technical flaw in my opinion. Probably the number would have been much less than 13 if he had taken a more steady approach. It's his natural game! 

Talking about steadiness - it is interesting to note that Nadal is a natural baseline player who loves and prefers to drain out his opponents engaging in a series of long rallies. Federer is quite the opposite; he loves to play serve and volley. Though well adapted to playing long rallies, he is always short of answers when it comes to playing on slow surfaces against the top three. Off late he is struggling practically in every surface and he is relying on his skills and all the knowledge accumulated over the years to reach the top four or top eight.

Federer remains a disciplined student of the game like a school student who refuses to skip even a single lecture till his schooling days are over. On the other hand, Nadal epitomises the 'cool' college going student who is smart, pumped up and restless like a raging bull - prone to accidents now and then, only to make a comeback with a bang. The mixed fortune cycle of pain and glory repeats at regular intervals. How long can he sustain such a professional lifestyle? One, two, three, four years or more.... Luckily, age is on his side.

As to Roger Federer - the 'aura' of  awesomeness is missing from the past 3-4 years. Yet, he marches on year after year participating in many of the elite tournaments worldwide, travelling constantly with his young family, fighting to remain in the top five with a hope of one last victory at a Grand Slam. It's been a while he shed those tears of joy and kiss the winner's trophy - a ritual which he and a lot of his fans were so accustomed to. 

"Legend remains victorious in spite of history" - Sarah Bernhardt