Switzerland say Roger to the Davis Cup

Swiss beat France win premier team competition for the first time

LILLE, FRANCE: Roger Federer gave Switzerland its first Davis Cup title on Sunday in Lille by defeating Richard Gasquet of France in straight sets in the first of the final's reverse singles.

Federer romped to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 win to hand the Swiss an unassailable 3-1 lead after Stan Wawrinka had won the opening singles of the competition and the world number two and four teamed up to win the doubles on Saturday.

It was one of the greatest sporting triumphs for Switzerland, the 14th nation to win the Davis Cup, and a huge personal milestone for Federer to go with his 17 Grand Slam titles, six Masters titles and Olympic doubles gold.

Federer now needs just an Olympic singles gold medal in Rio in 2016 to become just the third man, after arch-rival Rafael Nadal and Andre Agassi, to win all four Grand Slam titles, the Olympic title and the Davis Cup.

“It's an enormous pleasure for me, I've waited 15 years for this,” Federer said. “This has been a perfect weekend in a crazy atmosphere and all the Swiss fans helped us enormously.”

However, the 33-year-old refused to join in the debate about whether winning the Davis Cup now makes him the greatest player of all-time. "That's of no importance to me, what matters is that I enjoy playing tennis," he said.

Federer had expected to play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the first of Sunday's two rubbers, but the French number one, who lost to Wawrinka in four sets on Friday, was struggling with an arm injury.

In came Gasquet with the monumental task of defeating Federer and opening the door for the possibility of the in-form Gael Monfils defeating Wawrinka in the decider, but it was not to be.

The French team looked miserable on the closing ceremony podiums as they watched Federer wrap his hands around the Davis Cup for the first time.

"[Federer] was exceptional in every aspect of his play," said French captain Arnaud Clement. "Richard [Gasquet] tried to be aggressive but Roger was just stunning. It's hard for us to take but on the day we have to say that the Swiss were the better team.”

 

 

Like Sports on Facebook, follow @ETribuneSports on Twitter to stay informed and join in the conversation.