1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites

Swiss Lead

Jefferson ChaseNovember 22, 2014

Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka are rumored not to get along too well in real life. But they harmonized perfectly on the court, steering Switzerland to within a single win of a first-ever David Cup title.

https://p.dw.com/p/1Drhu
Roger Federer und Stanislas Wawrinka
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/Y. Valat

Federer and Wawrinka won the men's doubles title at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and they were simply too much for the French duo of Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet in Lille, France. The Swiss preveailed in straight sets 6-3, 7-5, 6-4. Switzerland go into the final round of singles play on Sunday with a 2-1 lead.

Swiss coach Severin Lüthi only decided at the last minute to send his two strongest players out on the court, and that decision paid off. Federer, in particular, seemed far more energetic on the sand of the Stade Pierre Mauroy than in his straight-set singles loss to Gael Monfils on Friday.

But the 17-time major winner will face another tough challenge on Sunday when he meets Richard Gasquet, who was a late replacement for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Should Gasquet win that match, Australian Open winner Wawrinka will face Montfils to decide the title. Warwrinka racked up a four-set win over Tsonga in his first singles match.