Swiss flags were flowing and Roger Federer was flying in Geneva today. Dispatching Fabio Fognini, 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (4) to land Switzerland in its first Davis Cup final in 22 years, Federer was soon soaring so high he could have tapped his toes on top of the net.
All that activity came after the 17-time Grand Slam champion clinched the Swiss semifinal victory over Italy. Federer found himself in full flight, hoisted up on the shoulders of captain Severin Luethi and wingman Stan Wawrinka, who carried him around the court in celebration.
Switzerland's 3-2 triumph sets up a dynamic final against host France in November and stakes are high. Switzerland is playing for its first Davis Cup championship; France is aiming for its first Davis Cup championship on home soil since left-handers Guy Forget and Henri Leconte led Les Bleus to the 1991 Cup in Lyon.
"Federer is a monument of tennis, this is a dream final,'' said Richard Gasquet, who partnered Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the doubles victory over the Czech Republic that secured France's spot in the final.
Davis Cup is the longest-running annual international team competition and the final will be a bit of a neighborhood battle. All four members of the French semifinal squad — Tsonga, Gasquet, Gael Monfils and Julien Benneteau — cite Switzerland as their official residence, but borders won't be blurred when the neighboring nations meet. Screaming vuvuzelas, smacking thundersticks and singing chants charge Davis Cup with a national fervor in which athletes and audience both crank up the intensity. Federer knows French fans will be roaring and didn't exactly sound like a road worrier today.
“The most classical match-ups I’ve had in my career have come against France,” Federer told DavisCup.com. “We’ve always lost [to France] at home and always won away. So I’m happy, I guess, the finals is away... We're very pleased to be in the finals and we'll see how it's gonna go."
Surface choice will impact the final direction. Given the fact Tsonga beat Federer in last month's Toronto final on hard court and won his lone hard-court meeting with Wawrinka and Monfils held two match points before bowing to the Swiss No. 1 in the U.S. Open quarterfinals and has split four hard-court meetings with Wawrinka, French captain Arnaud Clement could opt for a hard court. But there are more compelling reasons for Clement to choose an indoor clay court. Switzerland is 2-3 in its last five Davis Cup ties staged on clay. Tsonga swept Federer in the 2013 Roland Garros quarterfinals and he's split four clay-court meetings with Wawrinka, including losing a two-set lead in the 2011 French Open before bouncing back for a five-set win at the 2012 Roland Garros. Wawrinka battled back from a two-set hole to defeat Gasquet, 6-7(5), 4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 8-6 at the 2013 Roland Garros. Gasquet has won just two of 14 meetings with Federer with both wins coming on dirt. Though Monfils is winless in four clay-court matches with Federer and has never faced Wawrinka on dirt, he is a former French Open semifinalist.
Playing on a slow clay court can create longer points, testing the legs and stamina of Switzerland's two-man team. Then there's the fact both Federer and Wawrinka are expected to play the ATP World Tour Finals on hard court the week before the Davis Cup final giving French players time to adjust to the slower court and presenting the Swiss with a more severe surface transition.
France's superior depth gives Clement plenty of possibilities for doubles combinations. That doubles point could be crucial, particularly if the teams split opening singles. Federer and Wawrinka captured the Olympic doubles gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Games, but they've lost their last four Davis Cup doubles matches together. Frenchmen won two of the three doubles medals at the 2012 London Olympics as Tsonga and Michael Llodra struck silver and Gasquet and Benneteau took home a bronze. Benneteau is the reigning Roland Garros doubles champion and Tsonga owns a 5-0 Davis Cup doubles record.