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!
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