Switzerland placed in the 2012 Davis Cup World Group

Stanislas Wawrinka earned Switzerland’s place in the 2012 Davis Cup World Group when he returned Monday to complete a 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3 victory over Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt at the Royal Sydney Golf Club.

Wawrinka had been leading Hewitt 5-3 in the fifth set after almost four hours of play, when bad light suspended the tie-deciding rubber on Sunday evening. Hewitt had saved four set points in the fourth-set tie-break at 3-6 and 6-7. Wawrinka broke Hewitt's serve for the fourth time in the match at 2-2 in the fifth set.

At the resumption at 11 a.m. local time Monday, Hewitt squandered a 30/0 lead on serve, including committing two double faults, and Wawrinka reeled off four straight points to clinch victory before celebrating with his teammates, including Roger Federer who was courtside. The 26 year old improved to a 14-10 Davis Cup singles record, while Hewitt suffered only his 11th defeat in 48 Davis Cup singles matches.


On Sunday, Swiss No. 1 Federer had levelled the play-off tie at 2-2 with a 6-2, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 win over Australian Bernard Tomic. Federer, who hit 15 aces and 61 winners, has a 30-6 singles record in the competition.

Date: 19.09.2011

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Switzerland vs Australia goes into fourth day

The deciding rubber between Australia's Lleyton Hewitt and Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland will resume at the Royal Sydney Golf Club at 11 a.m. local time on Monday, after darkness suspended play on day three.

Wawrinka was leading Hewitt 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-4, 5-3 after almost four hours of play, when bad light suspended the tie-deciding rubber. Hewitt had saved four set points in the fourth-set tie-break at 3-6 and 6-7. Wawrinka broke Hewitt's serve for the fourth time in the match at 2-2 in the fifth set.

Earlier on Sunday, Swiss Roger Federer levelled the play-off tie at 2-2 with a 6-2, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 win over Australian Bernard Tomic. Federer, who hit 15 aces and 61 winners, has a 30-6 singles record in the competition.

"It was tough conditions today, but I really had a pleasure coming down here and playing; we'll see how it all works out in the fifth rubber," said Roger after the mtach.

Federer said the match could have been suspended earlier.

“It’s a tough call,” Federer said. “I’ve lost some big matches in the past due to darkness, and I always have the feeling that referees leave it a bit too late. They try to squeeze in another couple of games, so should they have stopped at two-all (in the fifth set)? Probably, that’s my guess.”’

AUSTRALIA 2, SWITZERLAND 2

Date: 18.09.2011

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Guccione - Hewitt surprise Swiss in Sydney

Lleyton Hewitt and Chris Guccione teamed up for Australia for only the second time to defeat Switzerland's Olympic doubles gold medallists, Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka, 2-6, 6-4, 6-2, 7-6(5) to give the host nation a 2-1 lead in the Davis Cup World Group play-off at the Royal Sydney Golf Club.

"Federer was too good for me yesterday but doubles is a different competition," Hewitt said afterwards. "There's something special about team competition. For me I leave all my passion out here."

Guccione and Hewitt recovered from losing the 31-minute first set, when they won just 17 points, and went on to hit 10 aces and 67 winners overall for victory in two hours and 17 minutes. "At times I thought we were playing Patrick Rafter at the net, he [Hewitt] was volleying so well," Federer commented.

Australia will need one more victory in the remaining two singles rubbers on Sunday to return to the World Group for the first time since 2007. Bernard Tomic will take on Federer while Hewitt will play Wawrinka.

Date: 17.09.2011, Source: ATP

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Federer beats Hewitt to level the tie

Roger Federer recorded his 40th Davis Cup rubber win for Switzerland on Friday in Sydney, when he beat fellow former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt of Australia 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-3 to level the World Group play-off tie at 1-1. Federer, who hit 22 winners for victory in two hours and 50 minutes, has a 40-11 record in the international team competition (29-6 in singles).

Federer, who arrived in Sydney on Wednesday after reaching the US Open semi-finals, admitted, "It's been a long trip for sure. This was a different type of challenge playing Australia which has such a great Davis Cup tradition. It's nice to see Lleyton, who's the same age, still playing as well."

Earlier in the day, World No. 59 Bernard Tomic kept his extended his unbeaten record to 4-0 for Australia. The 18-year-old Gold Coast resident defeated No. 19-ranked Stanislas Wawrinka 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3 on the grass of the Royal Sydney Golf Club.

"In the first set I was [nervous]," said Tomic. "Having Roger watch you is difficult. It's a bit difficult when you look up to your idol. But it's a good thing I got the team off to a good start."

Roger and Stan will play Chris Guccione and Lleyton Hewitt in tomorrow's doubles.

Date: 16.09.2011, Source: ATP

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Federer ready for Davis Cup

Roger Federer has shrugged off the effects of his flight from New York and the disappointment of a U.S. Open semifinal loss to be ready for Switzerland’s Davis Cup playoff against Australia starting Friday.

The No. 3-ranked Federer, who arrived in Australia on Wednesday, will play three matches in the Davis Cup, starting with a singles match against Lleyton Hewitt, followed by a doubles pairing with Stanislas Wawrinka.

Wimbledon quarterfinalist Bernard Tomic will face Wawrinka in the opening singles match, while Hewitt will join Chris Guccione in doubles.

Federer will play Tomic for the first time in Sunday’s reverse singles, while Hewitt meets Wawrinka.

The winner advances to the Davis Cup World Group for 2012, while the loser will have to take part in zonal qualifiers next year.

Despite a busy schedule and just two days to prepare for the grass courts at Royal Sydney Golf Club, Federer said Thursday he had a good feeling about the upcoming matches.

“I’m not sore, sorry to disappoint you,” the 16-time Grand Slam winner told Australian reporters. “I’m feeling good, really good actually.”

Federer has won 17 of his 25 matches against Hewitt, but Hewitt did get a victory in their last match on grass last year in Halle, Germany.

Hewitt, who sat out the U.S. Open with a foot injury, said he was fit and looking forward to renewing his rivalry with Federer.

“It’s been what I’ve been working towards in terms of getting my game up to scratch and my body as close to 100 percent right to take on one of the greats,” Hewitt said.

“It’s going to be a tough match. Hopefully Bernie can get us off to a good start against Stan on the grass tomorrow, and then I can go out there and take Roger on.”

Hewitt won the previous time he played Federer in a Davis Cup match in Australia, a grueling five-set win that gave Australia a 2003 semifinal win over Switzerland.

“I still believe it was one of my toughest losses I ever had as a player,” Federer said, placing it even above his five-set loss to Novak Djokovic at Flushing Meadows last week.

“People might think Djokovic was rough, but for me that was nothing compared to the Lleyton loss back in ’03 just because I felt I should have won so bad,” he said. “I am not 22 years old any more, I am 30, so I take losses much easier, but back then it was a very tough loss for me.”

Swiss captain Severin Luthi backed star man Federer to cope with the short preparation time. "He's a great champion, we know that, and for sure it's always better if you have more days, but I'm sure that he can handle this and be ready on Friday," Luthi told reporters.

Schedule

Friday
Match 1 : Bernard Tomic (Aus) v Stanislas Wawrinka (Sui)
Match 2:  Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) v Roger Federer (Sui)

Saturday
Match 3: Hewitt / Guccione (Aus) v Federer / Wawrinka (Sui)

Sunday
Match 4: Bernard Tomic (Aus) v Roger Federer (Sui)
Match 5: Lleyton Hewitt (Aus) v Stanislas Wawrinka (Sui)

Date: 15.09.2011, Source: AP

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Federer is a 'Superman' says Hewitt

Lleyton Hewitt is preparing to produce another lion-hearted performance to inspire Australia to victory in this weekend's Davis Cup tie against a Swiss team led by the player he regards as "Superman" -- Roger Federer.

The prospective clash between Hewitt and Federer will stir memories of their last Davis Cup duel in Australia, an epic semi-final match in Melbourne in 2003 where Hewitt came from two sets down to win and propel Australia into the final.

Both countries have fallen from those heady heights and are scrambling for scraps, a return to the world group, after falling out of the top tier of the competition.

On paper, it should be Switzerland's weekend, with two players ranked in the top 20 in No 3 Federer and No 19 Stanislas Wawrinka, compared with Australia's two singles players ranked No 59 (teenager Bernard Tomic) and No 199 (Hewitt after an injury-marred year).

But circumstances, and the Australian team's decision to put the tie on grass, are conspiring to put the two teams on even ground. Federer will arrive in Sydney only this morning, giving him just two days to prepare after playing a five-set thriller in the US Open semi-final with eventual winner Novak Djokovic.

That alone won't give Australia an advantage, according to Hewitt.

"For a freak like Roger it doesn't matter," he said. "I haven't seen a lot that Roger isn't able to do, he's as close to Superman as they come."

But Wawrinka, the man the Australian team has targeted as the weak link on grass for Switzerland, announced yesterday that he was recovering from a leg injury and was not certain to play.

Meanwhile, Hewitt declared that the foot injury that ruled him out of both the French and US Open this year was not bothering him on the grass at the Royal Sydney Golf Club.

He expects it to stand up to the rigours of two singles matches, and doubles if required.

"I've done everything right and so far it's been pretty good," he said.

"It was disappointing to miss basically the whole hardcourt season and the whole claycourt season this year, but I feel like I have committed myself pretty well to Davis Cup and done all the right things, and hopefully it pays off for our country."

Hewitt said he would take confidence from his form at Wimbledon, where he returned from foot surgery to push world No 5 Robin Soderling to five sets in the second round.

"If I can play with that kind of form and intensity over three days, then I really think I can give both guys a run for their money," he said.

"I will have to play a lot better than my ranking. Roger is the main guy in the tie and he's the guy with the most form and best form coming in."

Date: 14.09.2011, Source: The Australian

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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

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Federer - Hewitt set for Davis Cup clash

One of tennis’ most enduring rivalries of the past decade will reignite in a week’s time in Sydney, where Roger Federer and Lleyton Hewitt are due to square off in Davis Cup action. Australia plays host to Switzerland in the Davis Cup World Group play-off tie, to be held on grass at Royal Sydney Golf Club from 16-18 September.

Federer takes in a commanding 17-8 career lead over Hewitt, but it was the Australian who won the pair’s last meeting, in the grass-court final at Halle in 2010. The two contested a memorable Davis Cup clash in the 2003 World Group play-offs in Melbourne, when Hewitt rallied from two sets down to defeat Federer in five sets. However, he would go on to lose his next 15 matches against the Swiss.

The two have had quite different lead-ins to the tie. While Federer is preparing to contest the US Open quarter-finals in New York, Hewitt was forced to miss the final Grand Slam of the year due to the foot injury that has sidelined him for much of the season and seen him slip to World No. 188.

“It's a very unlucky draw for us,” said Federer who is set for a fast turnaround to get to Sydney if he is to reach the final at Flushing Meadows. “Sure, Australia is one of those great nations and I enjoy watching them play Davis Cup.  So that's obviously what's very intriguing playing against them.

“But for us it was tough now to sort of pack our bags, pay a lot of money for flights and hotels. So the Federation is not happy.  At least the minimum we can do is try to win that tie and get back in the World Group. We'll see how it goes. I hope I can get there and play against the Aussies.”

Australian Davis Cup captain Patrick Rafter confirmed that Hewitt is on course to be fit for the tie. “Lleyton missed the US Open and has arrived in Sydney nice and early to get the best possible preparation," Rafter said. "He is a fighter and I am confident he will get his body right for the tie. We want to get them on the grass, in front of our home crowd and fight like hell to win this tie.”

Federer is supported in the Swiss squad by Stanislas Wawrinka, while No. 1 Australian and Wimbledon quarter-finalist Bernard Tomic also features for the home side.

Date: 08.09.2011, Source: ATP

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Roger and Stan win the doubles

Roger and Stanislas Wawrinka won their doubles match against Portugal's Frederico Gil and Leonardo Tavares 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 today in Bern. They needed less than two hours, even though they had a tough start.

Switzerland has now an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the group and only two matches left to play. They are now qualified for the World Group playoffs in September.

Date: 09.07.2011, Source: RF Official

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Roger Federer wins for Switzerland in Davis Cup

Roger Federer overcame early problems to beat Portugal’s Rui Machado and guide Switzerland to a 2-0 lead in the Davis Cup on Friday.

Federer’s service was broken twice in the opening set by the 93rd-ranked Machado before he recovered to win 5-7, 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the Group I second round match.

“I guess I struggled early on and Machado played good tennis and deserved to win the first set,” Federer said.

It was Federer’s first match since losing in the Wimbledon quarterfinals to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga last week, and his first on hard courts since April.

“I don’t want to say I underestimated the conditions. It’s again a surface change … it’s very different to Wimbledon,” he said.

Earlier Friday, Federer’s Olympics gold medal-winning doubles partner Stanislas Wawrinka beat Frederico Gil 7-5, 6-3, 6-4. Federer and Wawrinka are scheduled to face Gil and Leonardo Tavares in Saturday’s doubles rubber. The winning nation advances to a playoff in September with a chance to join the 16-nation world group.

Federer’s first Davis Cup match in almost two years meant he met International Tennis Federation eligibility rules for the 2012 London Olympics events being played at Wimbledon.

The noisy home fans in an 8,000 crowd most dressed in red and some swinging traditional Swiss cowbells had occasional uneasy moments as Federer made twice as many unforced errors as Machado.

Federer served to open the match and lost the game after sending two miscued backhand topspin shots long. The third-ranked Swiss broke back in the fourth game but fell behind 5-6 when Machado seized his third break point chance with a forehand cross-court winner. In the second set, Federer punched the air and shouted “Come on!” when he broke Machado’s serve to lead 3-1.

Federer took the opening game of the third on the Portuguese’s serve, and shouted encouragement to himself again when overturning a 0-40 deficit on his serve to lead 3-1. He saved a break point at 5-4 with a service Machado could not return, then clinched the set with another service winner.

Federer ended the match with an ace before conducting the crowd in a victory celebration.

“I really enjoyed myself out there,” he said. “I was happy at the end that we got the second point for Switzerland.”

Date: 08.07.2011, Source: AP

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