Davis Cup Watershed Moment: United States Defeats Federer-led Swiss Team
The United States victory over the Swiss in Davis Cup this past weekend was a watershed moment, albeit in different ways, for both US tennis, as well as Roger Federer. As the United States moves forward seemingly in the post-Andy Roddick era and searches for more top players, this Davis Cup team win was a shining moment for teammates Mardy Fish and
John Isner, as well as Mike Bryan (playing without twin bro, Bob) and newcomer, Ryan Harrison, possibly a major player in the future of American men’s tennis. Fish played clutch tennis to pull out a five setter in singles and then came back the next day and partnered Mike Bryan to clinch in the doubles. Meanwhile, John Isner upset Roger Federer for the first time on clay at home in Switzerland in four sets.
On the Federer side, Roger lost both his opening singles, as well as the double rubber with Stan Wawrinka. Given Federer's rare appearances in Davis Cup, to lose both matches in front of the hometown fans is a rather significant “upset” and meant the Swiss had no chance of winning. What compounded the shock of Federer’s losses was that for the first ever, or at least in a very long time, Roger uttered some comments in his post-match press conference that caused such a negative reaction that he had to clarify them a day or so later. At first, it sounded like Federer had said in French that Wawrinka played badly in his singles and doubles matches, but later Roger clarified to say that he meant “not badly”. The other significant aspect of this Davis Cup tie and Federer’s subsequent entry into the ATP tournament this week in Rotterdam is that he isn’t taking his typical post-Australian Open extended break. Time will tell how this scheduling shift affects the rest of Federer’s season.
On the Federer side, Roger lost both his opening singles, as well as the double rubber with Stan Wawrinka. Given Federer's rare appearances in Davis Cup, to lose both matches in front of the hometown fans is a rather significant “upset” and meant the Swiss had no chance of winning. What compounded the shock of Federer’s losses was that for the first ever, or at least in a very long time, Roger uttered some comments in his post-match press conference that caused such a negative reaction that he had to clarify them a day or so later. At first, it sounded like Federer had said in French that Wawrinka played badly in his singles and doubles matches, but later Roger clarified to say that he meant “not badly”. The other significant aspect of this Davis Cup tie and Federer’s subsequent entry into the ATP tournament this week in Rotterdam is that he isn’t taking his typical post-Australian Open extended break. Time will tell how this scheduling shift affects the rest of Federer’s season.
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