Federer fires Switzerland into Davis Cup final

September 14, 2014 07:23 pm | Updated 07:23 pm IST - GENEVA

Switzerland’s Roger Federer returns a ball to Italy’s Fabio Fognini during the third single match of the tennis Davis Cup World Group semifinal between Switzerland and Italy, in Geneva, Switzerland on Sunday.

Switzerland’s Roger Federer returns a ball to Italy’s Fabio Fognini during the third single match of the tennis Davis Cup World Group semifinal between Switzerland and Italy, in Geneva, Switzerland on Sunday.

Roger Federer secured Switzerland's place in the final of the Davis Cup for the first time since 1992 by comfortably beating Fabio Fognini in Geneva on Sunday.

Roared on by a capacity crowd in the Palexpo Arena, Federer dismantled the world number 17 Fognini 6-2 6-3 7-6 (4) in just under two hours.

Switzerland, who lost to the United States in their only other Davis Cup final appearance in 1992, set up a title round with France, who beat holders Czech Republic at Roland Garros.

"It's really nice to share it (victory) with my team members," Federer said. "I think I really struggled today. I think Fabio struggled all weekend.

"It's tough conditions, pretty quick court, so it's always going to happen especially if you are not serving so well.

"I thought today wasn't the best performance from both of us but then again you've got to fight with what you've got and in the end I'm happy to make the difference."

Federer gave the Swiss the first point on Friday by easing past Simone Bolelli before Stanislas Wawrinka doubled their advantage with a straight-sets victory over Fognini.

But Fognini and Bolelli combined brilliantly in Saturday's doubles match to beat Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli in five sets and put the pressure back on the Swiss.

Having been rested for the doubles match, a refreshed Federer broke Fognini in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead before snatching another break to claim the first set.

Federer, who has now won all five of his Davis Cup singles rubbers this year, continued to trouble the Italian with his precision hitting and broke Fognini in the eighth game of the second set to take control of the match.

Fognini rallied in the third set and took Federer to a tie break but the 17-times grand slam champion held his nerve, claiming it 7-4 to reach the first Davis Cup final of his illustrious career.

The final will be played in France from November 21-23.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.