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This weekend in France the 2014 Davis Cup Final was played in France between France and Switzerland.
France reached the final defeating Australia 5-0 in the first round, Germany 3-2 in the quarter-finals and the Czech Republic in the semifinals. France won the Davis Cup nine times, the most recent one in 2001.
Switzerland reached the final defeating Serbia 3-2 in the first round, Kazakhstan 3-2 in the quarter-finals and Italy 3-2 in the semifinals. This is its second Davis Cup final after the one lost in 1992.
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga – Stan Wawrinka
Stan Wawrinka starts the match well and has a break point in the second game but Jo-Wilfried Tsonga wins his service game. The tension is palpable but the Swiss seem to manage it better and breaks the French in the fourth game and again in the sixth game going 5-1. Wawrinka serves for the set, offers a break point but cancels it and wins the first set 6-1.
In the second set, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is still struggling to get into the match and Stan Wawrinka has a break point in the first game but the French wins his service game. But now there’s a match, the Swiss has a moment when he doesn’t serve so well and in the fourth game Tsonga breaks him. The situation seems reversed compared to the first set and the Swiss can’t win many points on his opponent’s service. The break is decisive and Tsonga wins the second set 6-3.
The third set is balanced and neither player has break points for a number of games. In the sixth game Stan Wawrinka breaks Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. In the eighth game, the Swiss has two break points which are also set points but the French wins his service game. In the ninth game Wawrinka wastes a set point with a double fault but eventually wins the third set 6-3.
At the beginning of the fourth set Jo-Wilfried Tsonga has some problems wth his service and Stan Wawrinka breaks him in the first game. The French tries to fight back but can’t even get a break point. In the seventh game Wawrinka breaks Tsonga again and in the next game closes the fourth set 6-2 conquering the match and giving Switzerland a 1-0 lead in the Final.
Gael Monfils – Roger Federer
After the firsts game dominated by the service, a very intense Gael Monfils breaks Roger Federer in the fourth game. In the fifth game, the Swiss has a total of two break points but the French wins his service game. In the sixth game Monfils breaks Federer again then closes the first set 6-1.
In the second set, Gael Monfils breaks Roger Federer in the third game. The Swiss doesn’t seem to have the reactivity to fight back and can’t problems to his opponent’s service. The break is decisive and Monfils wins the second set 6-4.
In the third set there’s more balance until the fifth game, when Gael Monfils breaks Roger Federer. The Swiss is in the match but the French show more reactivity and energy than him. In the ninth game Monfils breaks Federer again to win the third set 6-3 and to conquer the match giving France the tie at 1-1 in the Final.
Julien Benneteau / Richard Gasquet – Roger Federer / Stan Wawrinka
At the beginning of the match the services dominate until the sixth game, when Julien Benneteau loses his service game for France. The French couple can’t create problems to their opponents’ service and Switzerland closes the first set 6-3 with Roger Federer serving.
In the second set the French couple reacts and in the second game has a break point but Roger Federer wins his service game for Switzerland. In the fourth game the French have two more break points but Stan Wawrinka wins his service game for Switzerland. In the eighth game the French have a total of two break points but Wawrinka wins his service game for Switzerland. In the ninth game the Swiss couple has two break points but Julien Benneteau wins his service game for France. In the eleventh game Richard Gasquet loses his service game for France. In the twelfth game the Swiss win the second set 7-5 with Wawrinka serving.
In the third set, Switzerland has a total of two break points in the third game but Richard Gasquet wins his service game for France. In the fifth game Julien Benneteau loses his service game for France. After the seventh game Benneteau gets a back massage. In the ninth game, Switzerland has a break point which is also a match point but Benneteau wins his service game for France. Switzerland closes the third set 6-4 with Roger Federer serving to win the match and giving Switzerland a 2-1 lead in the Final.
Richard Gasquet – Roger Federer
Roger Federer starts well and in the third game breaks Richard Gasquet. The French tries to react but the Swiss plays much better than him. In the seventh game after being 40-0 Gasquet offers a break point but wins his service game. In the ninth game the French offers a total of three break points but wins his service game again. In the tenth game Federer wins the first set 6-4.
At the beginning of the second set Richard Gasquet keeps on struggling and Roger Federer breaks him in the first game. The French tries to be more aggressive but the Swiss’ back seems to be really well because in the seventh game Federer breaks his opponent again and then wins the second set 6-2.
At the beginning of the third set Roger Federer has a total of four break points in the first game but Richard Gasquet wins his service game. The French captain Arnaud Clement tries to help his player complaining on situations that are actually normal but Federer doesn’t get distracted and breaks his opponent in the fifth game and again in the seventh game then closes the third set 6-2 winning the match and the decisive point to win the Davis Cup for Switzerland.
The French hoped to have an advantage from the Roger Federer’s physical problems but they were offset by those suffered by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. There will certainly be some controversy about the players choices by the team’s captain Arnaud Clement but with hindsight it’s easy to criticize. France has several good players so the team will have other opportunities to get ahead in Davis Cup, the problem is to have them at their best.
For Switzerland this was probably the last chance to win the Davis Cup. Stan Wawrinka’s great performances in the ATP and Grand Slam tournaments convinced Roger Federer to participate and eventually they did it. Perhaps it was the last match played by Federer in Davis Cup but now that he has won one of the very few titles he lacked he and his teammates can really enjoy a great victory.
