Tennis News

Following a pivotal start to their historic Davis Cup final, the Swiss team was all but surprised when Roger Federer failed to win the second rubber against local cult hero Gael Monfils.

After withdrawing from last week’s Barclays ATP World Tour Finals showdown against Novak Djokovic with a back injury, many were worried that the Swiss legend would be unable to spearhead the Swiss team to their first team title.

However, on Wednesday afternoon, Federer appeared on court in Lille prepared to practice – a clear sign that he felt healthy enough to perform. Sadly, this did not help him on Friday afternoon, as his lethargic movement was no match for Monfils’ swashbuckling brilliance on this particular occasion.

“I’ll definitely make myself available if I feel that I can play proper tennis,” said Federer. “I started to feel better as the match went on. That’s very encouraging, I must say. I would think that I’m going to get better as the weekend goes on. I hope I’ll be fine tonight and tomorrow morning to give maximum possibilities for Severin and back up Stan and the rest of the team.”

While it was a lackluster performance from Federer, it was contrasted by a groundbreaking showing from Monfils, who appeared to be a man possessed and determined to grasp victory firmly with both hands.

Finally, after several failed attempts in 2014, it was third time lucky for the dazzling Frenchman.

“That definitely [is] one of the top three matches in my life,” said Monfils. “To be honest, I was very nervous in the beginning. For sure when Jo lost, it’s an extra pressure because we need to get back on the road to win the title.

“Then, I think I like that atmosphere, the big court. The crowd was very good. They helped me a lot, gave me a lot of energy. At the end [it] helped me a lot because I went for my shots, which made me serve big [and hit] big forehands. “

Richard Gasquet and Julien Benneteau are scheduled to play Marco Chiudinelli and Michael Lammer in the doubles rubber on Saturday. However, there is nothing stopping Swiss captain Severin Luthi from replacing them with Federer and Wawrinka to try and gain an edge.

Following an outstanding breakthrough season on the professional tour, where she reached the semi-final or better of three of the four Grand Slam events, Eugenie Bouchard culminated her memorable year by being named Most Improved Player on the WTA tour this year.

Although the world No. 7 ended her year in disappointing fashion at the WTA Finals in Singapore, her achievements throughout the season merited the award. Between the months of January and July, she was nearly unstoppable.

However, Bouchard did not pick up a single win over a Top 5 player following her run to the Wimbledon final, and lost every single match at the year-end championships. She attributes some of that to her hectic work schedule and the lack of experience in efficient tournament scheduling.

“Definitely, I think I’ll play less tournaments next year,” she said. “When you go deeper into the draw, especially at the bigger events, it’s definitely more stressful on the body and the mind.”

“I’ll try not to play back-to-back tournaments on opposite sides of the world. Just try to have a few more weeks throughout the year, a week here and there of practice and getting ready for the following tournament.”

While the workrate has been tiresome, Bouchard has enjoyed the fruits of her labour, and does not shy away from the publicity from her rapid rise to stardom.

“Probably after I got back to Montreal [after Wimbledon, where she lost to Petra Kvitova], it took me a couple of days to get over it and get used to the whole situation—although I’m not sure it’s something you get used to,” she said. “People coming up to you and trying to take your picture. A lot of off-court requests. But I’m not going to complain about it.”

“If didn’t want attention I would have been a librarian, so I think it’s all good. I just need to make sure I know the priority is tennis.”

Gael Monfils is not scared to admit that he is scared.

Four years after his last Davis Cup final against Serbia – a final that the French team lost 3-2 – the world No. 19 with the trademark swashbuckling style is worried that this weekend could be a case of déja vu.

Monfils was a pivotal member of the team four years ago, and won the opening tie against Janko Tipsarevic, but then lost the deciding rubber to novak Djokovic to surrender the title to the Serbian team.

“Honestly, there’s a lot of pressure, and I feel that pressure myself because we really want to do well,” he said. “It is an unusual situation. For me, it’s my second chance to get a point for my country in a final.

“So, yes, I am very scared.”

The Frenchman will begin his campaign against 17-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer. They met twice this season, and while Monfils lost both those matches, he took the world No. 2 to a deciding set in both of them. Their last meeting was a five set thriller at the US Open – a contest that could have easily gone in his favour.

“For sure it will help me, this last match on my mind,” said Monfils. “But this one’s going to be different. You have someone you can share your emotion [with] during the match, the captain who can help me, of course, if maybe I’m tight in the match.

“Definitely I expect to play a big match again because I know I need to play a big match to beat him. I’m very happy to have this opportunity again.”

Following a less-than-stellar conclusion to the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, and thus the regular 2014 season, Roger Federer will get a second chance to culminate his season in strong fashion when he spearheads the Swiss team in the Davis Cup final against France. Federer will begin his run against Gael Monfils, whom he has encountered ten times previously on the tour, and leads the head to head series 8-2.

Federer lost an opportunity to win his sixth title of the season and seventh at the year-end championships when he withdrew from the event with a back injury, thus allowing Novak Djokovic to lift the title for a third time in four years. However, the Swiss No. 1, who compiled a 72-11 record on the tour, won three Masters titles, and also reached the final of the Wimbledon Championships, will not allow this latest incident to overshadow his relatively successful season on the tour. He will also not allow it to stop him from securing the only title absent from his trophy cabinet.

“I’m just really pleased that I’m actually able to play tomorrow. I’ll give it a go. Definitely looking forward to playing against Gael. I think he’s a great player, very exciting to watch. I like to play against him, too. “So things have been going very well for me the last week. It’s been a difficult week, but I’m happy where I am today.”

World No. 19 Gael Monfils has only played three tournaments since his last meeting with Federer at the US Open, as he was forced onto the sidelines to recover from an injury. After helping the French Davis Cup team reach the final with a win over Lukas Rosol, he reached the semi-final in Metz and the third round of the Paris Bercy to finish his ATP World Tour season with an entertaining match-up against Novak Djokovic.

“For sure it will help me, this last match on my mind,” said Monfils. “But this one’s going to be different. You have someone you can share your emotion [with] during the match, the captain who can help me, of course, if maybe I’m tight in the match.

“Definitely I expect to play a big match again because I know I need to play a big match to beat him. I’m very happy to have this opportunity again.”

This marks the third time this season that Federer and Monfils will meet on the circuit, with Federer picking up victories at the US Open and the Cincinnati Masters. Federer needed deciding sets in both those matches to beat Monfils and considering we have not been updated on the state of his back, it is easy to assume that this will be another tight, competitive encounter.

Prediction: Roger Federer in Five Sets