Roger Federer, Switzerland At A Disadvantage Against France In 2014 Davis Cup Final
It looks like the French are pulling all stops in trying to upset Roger Federer, Stanislas Wawrinka and the rest of the Switzerland team in the championship round of the 2014 Davis Cup.
The French side has announced on Monday that the world cup of tennis held from Nov. 21 to 23, 2014 will be held at the Stade Pierre-Mauroy featuring an indoor clay court.
Clay is not the preferred surface for both Federer and Wawrinka, ranked no. 3 and no. 4 in the latest men’s singles rankings of the ATP but have relatively struggled in clay courts.
Roger Federer has a career win-loss record of 197-61 on clay or just 76.4%— still a respectable record but not as dominant as his 81.31% career success rate (979–225) in all surfaces. In 2014, Federer has a record of 7-3 on clay. One loss came at the 2014 French Open where he lost in the third round to Ernests Gulbis in five sets 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 2-6, 6-4, 3-6
Meanwhile, Wawrinka has a career record of 135-71 on clay (65.5%) and just 5-3 in 2014. Despite the mediocre clay record, Wawrinka still won the title at the ATP World Tour Masters Monte Carlo in Monaco in April.
Curiously, that clay championship was at the expense of compatriot Roger Federer, who also made the final in that ATP tournament. Wawrinka beat Federer, 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the Monaco tournament.
The France vs. Switzerland final in the 2014 Davis Cup is expected to draw a large crowd that will troop to the stadium which is the home of the football club Lille OSC.
Barring any changes to the line-up or injuries, the French team will feature Michael Llodra, Julian Benneteu, Richard Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils while the Swiss team will have Federer, Wawrinka, Marco Chiudinelli and Michael Lammer in the championship round.
To qualify in the Final, France beat Australia, 5-0 in the first round; Germany, 3-2 in the quarterfinals; Czech Republic, 4-1 in the semifinals in the Davis Cup World Group matches. Meanwhile, Switzerland defeated Serbia, 3-2 in the first round; Kazakhstan, 3-2 in the quarterfinals; and Italy, 3-2 in the semifinals.
Can Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka and the rest of the Swiss squad beat France in their preferred surface and home court?
