Federer arrives in Australia for Davis Cup playoff

Roger Federer has arrived in Australia to join the Swiss team ahead of the Davis Cup World Group playoff starting Friday.

The 16-time Grand Slam winner arrived Wednesday, later than his Switzerland teammates after his grueling five-set loss to Novak Djokovic in the U.S. Open semifinals Sunday.

After stopping over in Dubai for one night, Federer has just two days to adjust to the grass courts at Royal Sydney Golf Club before his first match of the tie against Australia.

“Well, usually we never have that much time to get used to the grass anyway, so that’s kind of how we have to do it every year for the grass season, anyway, so I’m kind of used to it,” Federer said. “The grass (here) is pretty good.”

Federer, who spent around one-and-a-half hours practicing with his teammates on an outside court, is expected to play two singles matches and may partner Stanislas Wawrinka for Saturday’s doubles.

Swiss captain Severin Luthi said he was keeping an open mind about whether to use the 30-year-old Federer in doubles as well as singles.

“I’m sure that he can go three days if he has to, but we like to have different possibilities,” Luthi said. He said he was confident Wawrinka would be fit to play Friday, despite a niggling leg injury the world No.19 picked up at the U.S. Open.

Date: 14.09.2011, Source: AP