Davis Cup Final preview: Switzerland take on France with a fit Federer in their line-up
After days of speculation, Roger Federer has been declared fit to take in Switzerland’s Davis Cup Tie vs France at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille this weekend. The 17-time Grand Slam champion,sustained a back injury during his semifinal win over fellow countrymen Stan Wawrinka in the ATP Tour finals last week in London and as a result, couldn’t take part in the final against Novak Djokovic.
But the 33-year-old has managed to recover sufficiently and will face Frenchmen Gael Monfils in the second of the 5-match rubber
“Obviously if I'm stepping out on the court, that means I can play.That's most important ”. Federer said.
“I'm just really pleased that I'm actually able to play tomorrow. I'll give it a go. Definitely looking forward to playing against Gael. I think he's a great player, very exciting to watch. I like to play against him, too.So things have been going very well for me the last week. It's been a difficult week, but I'm happy where I am today ”. he added.
Federer has 8-2 head-to-head record over his opponent Monfils and their last meeting turned out to be a thrilling contest with the Swiss ace winning the match in 5 sets after saving 2 match points at the quarter-final stage of the 2014 US Open. Monfils hoped that the presence of his captain Arnaud Clement courtside would help come out trumps this time round.
“For sure it will help me, this last match on my mind.But this one's going to be different. You have someone you can share your emotion [with] during the match, the captain who can help me, of course, if maybe I'm tight in the match ”. Monfils said.
“Definitely I expect to play a big match again because I know I need to play a big match to beat him. I'm very happy to have this opportunity again.” he added.
Tsonga vs Wawrinka in the first rubber
However, prior to that game, Stan Wawrinka takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in match no.1. Tsonga leads 3-2 in the head-to-head between the two and it will be the first encounter between the two in 18 months.
The 29-year-old Tsonga is coming off an arm injury, but he seemed confident of putting a good performance on the day.
“If I didn't play these past weeks, it's not because I chose not to play.Secondly, what reassures me is that in the past I didn't always need to have a lot of competition under my belt to play well,” Tsonga said.
“So, on the contrary, when I play too many tournaments, sometimes I get tired. Honestly, for me, it is not something that will be a factor this weekend,” he added.
Despite losing to Federer in the semi-final of the ATP Tour finals, Stan Wawrinka said that he had a lot of positives to gain out of that event and it will be fresh start for him on Friday.
“For me, for sure it was tough to lose against Roger with four match points.But I took a lot of positives from that week. I'm feeling great from London, a lot of confidence from there.” Federer said.
“When I came here with the physio and everything, everything was different. It was a new week, a new state of mind. So mentally it was easy for me to switch, to forget about this big disappointment, start on something positive,” he added.
A packed house is expected on each day and France captain Arnaud Clement was hopeful that the strong home support would work in their favor.
For us, yes, it's an advantage for sure.We're going to have our team, lots of positive energy. We're going to need it. Ambiance in Davis Cup is always unbelievable in France,” he said.
| Round | Match |
|---|---|
| Round 1 | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga(FRA) vs Stan Wawrinka(SUI) |
| Round 2 | Gael Monfils(FRA) vs Roger Federer(FRA) |
| Round 3 | Julien Benneteau/Richard Gasquet(FRA) vs Marco Chiudinelli/Michael Lammer(SUI) |
| Round 4 | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs Roger Federer |
| Round 5 | Gael Monfils vs Stan Wawrinka |