Congrats again,but its as the man says this was a team effort for the guys,its not just about Roger himself,the thread title should read the Swiss team win the DC,after all doesnt Stan warrant a mention after beating Gael,nothing against Roger but its not right that he takes all the credit and steals all the glory….

November 23rd, 2014 at 10:16 am

Congrats to team Swizerland! Well deserved DC title for whole team.

I don’t know what was wrong with Tsonga, but putting Gasquet against Federer was suicide from France. Sorry for Richard, and even more sorry for Monfis who played extremely well on Friday and was let down by his team mates…

Sorry for repost but this is probably a better thread for my commet because I’m not into those GOAT discussions…

November 23rd, 2014 at 10:20 am

It was really great from Federer, to allow Wawrinka and Luhti to lift up the trophy first. Wawrinka really put it all into this win, so all guys really deserve that.

November 23rd, 2014 at 11:02 am

Agree totally – title SHOULD be Swiss Team wins Davis Cup Title. Everyone on Swiss team put in effort & support all year to set this final match up – and Stan was truly The Man this weekend and deserves great deal of praise for his work in bring the title home to the Swiss.

Congrats to all including the French Team.

November 23rd, 2014 at 11:09 am

So proud of roger.. Despite an ailing back, he still played for his country.
The whole Swiss team deserved it. Congrts stan the man, what a year you had. 1Gs, 1Ms and now Davis cup as well.
And, what can I say about roger. Well a 33 year old did enough to prove once again that if he is in song no matter who the opposition is, no what in which era he is playing he is capable of beating them all like he did all year.

You deserved it champ. You deserved it.
Hope to see you fit along with Rafael nadal in Aussie open 2015. And I wish delpo would make a return as well. :)

November 23rd, 2014 at 11:15 am

So bad back rules. What a farce this has been from fed. Withdraws from WTF final citing bad back and then a few days later plays best of 5 sets over 3 days. Not cool fed, not cool.

November 23rd, 2014 at 11:27 am

Congrats to Roger and swiss team. Having world #2 and #4 this ia most fitting. Great achievement for all team and their country.

As for Federer won almost everything major there is, missing only Monte Carlo and Rome. I know Rafa fans will say he doesn’t have Olympics single gold but with one Gold in doubles and another silver, I bet he wanted DC more than a sinlge gold and this complete his already remarkable resume. For years he carried Swiss alone and last years with Stan doing the most efforta this year star aligned for them.

November 23rd, 2014 at 11:31 am

It is all very well to say that the title should read ” Swiss Team wins Davis Cup Title.” But when all is said and done, whether one likes it or not, the selling story is Roger Federer. It may not be very politically correct, but it is what is is. Given that they each won 1 singles match each for the Swiss team, unfortunately, Stan would have had to play and win the fifth rubber to get equal accolades and the deserved recognition. But now, with all the drama of an ailing back, Roger comes across almost a matyr, saving his health to be match fit for DC finals and sacrificing it for the team. Very good story-great for the marketers. Roger names will sell the papers world over & add to the tally of website click’s; unfortunately, Stan’s won’t (at least for the moment…when roger is still playing) Similarly, in a 4x100m olympics athletic relay, when Jamaica wins, hardly any other name is mentioned….it’s more often than not all about Usain Bolt. Nobody said it’s a fair world. Congrats team Swiss.

November 23rd, 2014 at 11:39 am

I guess this means fed will never play DC again!

November 23rd, 2014 at 11:59 am

congrats to the swiss team.

November 23rd, 2014 at 12:31 pm

Atleast better than dull ..win 3 dc final all on dirt didn’t play 4th because it was not on dirt ..

November 23rd, 2014 at 1:02 pm

Thanks, Giles. It’s good to know you feel bitter about this.

November 23rd, 2014 at 1:10 pm

Who knew Monf and Stan were such good friends?

November 23rd, 2014 at 1:31 pm

Congrats to Team Suisse! Such a nice outcome to have both Fed and team MVP Wawrinka win one singles match and win the doubles match together. Big props also to Captain Luthi for making the right calls (including the brilliant idea to bring on a doubles consultant to devise their doubles strategy), and to Chuidinelli and Lammer for their role as team mates, players in earlier ties, and practice partners.

November 23rd, 2014 at 1:54 pm

BTW, what a phenomenal year for Stan Wawrinka – first grand slam title, first Masters 1000 title, top 4 year-end ranking, and Davis Cup title.

November 23rd, 2014 at 2:04 pm

@Eric, Stan has said that Monfils is one of his best friends on tour, along with many of the French players so it was probably the last team he wanted to beat. However, he hadn’t waited ten years to lose in the finals because they were against his friends, but their exchange after the match was really touching.

Agree with everyone’s comments about Stan as the MVP, who isn’t going to get the headlines. However, he has to be thrilled with his year and doesn’t need media attention to remember all he’s achieved and know what he could do in 2015. He played better knowing there was so much focus on Roger’s back and the French did seem to underestimate his ability to carry the team the 1st two days since “I’m not number four in the world for nothing.” After this year and the past two weeks, any tennis player knows he’s not to be underestimated.

Can’t wait for the possibilities next year and hopefully, the strong return of my other fave Delpo.

November 23rd, 2014 at 2:25 pm

Congrats Team Suisse!

Thanks to Stan and to Roger for a really fabulous team effort.

Proud to be a fan of the suisse!

So wonderful to see Roger bounce back and do what he does best – and that’s win!

Same goes for Stan. And Yes. Well done, what a gent you are Roger. To let Stan lift the trophy first. Shows the integrity of the man.

Good luck to both for 2015. Time to rest now for all the tennis athletes and all the tennis fans!

What a year!

November 23rd, 2014 at 2:26 pm

What a wonderful win for Switzerland! Their boys did them proud. Truly a team effort… Brilliant Stan and Fed!!

November 23rd, 2014 at 2:52 pm

France is better of importing captain for their DC team, the last two were morons.
BTW, Roger’s back looks just fine, he will be right for the next year assault on #1 and more GS titles, pity his ailing back robbed us great for the great match in London, such is life;)

Congrats to Swiss accountants.

November 23rd, 2014 at 3:12 pm

the french captain is getting a lot of flack already, on twitter but elsewhere too. people have questioned choices such as: why clay (when players like monfils, tsonga, and even gasquet have had more success on faster surfaces); why tsonga if he is injured; why gasquet and not benneteau’s usual doubles partner; or why not gilles simon for singles, who has a 2-2 h2h versus stan and 2-5 h2h with fed.

how many finals have they lost now? at least 2 in the last 4 or 5 years. they do seem to need something. or maybe it’s just the same in regular tour play. french players have loads of talent but don’t win a lot of titles.

November 23rd, 2014 at 3:35 pm

Emily it will be fantastic having Delpo and Rafa back in the new year,i hope both will be fit for the AO….

November 23rd, 2014 at 3:47 pm

The problem is the French team is extremely deep but doesn’t have anyone you can COUNT on to go out and win their two singles matches against good opposition.

November 23rd, 2014 at 5:07 pm

Emily, good to know! Nice to see a Stan expert around.

Didn’t Gasquet beat Federer on clay in 2012 or 2013? Definitely not a stupid call to send him out, esp. with an injured (?) Tsonga.

November 23rd, 2014 at 5:09 pm

eric, that was essentially my final point: it’s just the same on the regular tour; occasionally you see flashes of talent from the french players but they aren’t often the victors/title winners. tsonga is the closest but he was injured apparently. simon had just beaten wawrinka in shanghai and he’s pushed fed more than once at slams to 5 sets, so i think that’s why he was being thought of as a possible.

November 23rd, 2014 at 5:13 pm

Exactly! If the DC format had (say) six player teams France would clean up every year, though…

November 23rd, 2014 at 5:21 pm

Re France:

why the surprise for the loss? It’s simple:

Davis Cup finals is like a Grand Slam final:

Talent get’s you there, but you need a pair of balls (in the men’s game of course, LOL) and a cool mentality to seal the deal in the inevitable, pressure charged environment that exists in such a occasion.

It’s a unique environment: and ONLY a few can truly handle it.

France have NO player of such a kind a who can handle such a environment.

Swiss team had in Federer: he can handle such a environment. He got his butt whupped on friday and immediately post match said he demands and expect more from himself.

That’s Champion mentality.

Something NO ONE on the french team knows anything about.

So they can have whatever surface, captain they want but it will make no difference. Unless they get lucky and face a minnow such as KAZAKHISTAN but whenever they’ll face a team with players who got the big match mentality:

France will get whupped. Time after time and again.

DON’T blame the surface, the coach but the players should grow a pair, look in the mirror and ask themselves:

Did I genuinely stand up to the moment? Was my head faced up in the heat of the battle or was I looking at the ground? Did I face the pressure bravely front foot forward or was I meek and feeling sorry for myself?

BARRING MONFILS who reveled in the passionate atmosphere in this unique environment and played like someone who embraced it fully and loved it, the rest were:

Meek, sheepish and flat out dismal. And that’s no surprise since deep down:

We knew the French were going to be the lambs put to the slaughter in this pressure charged environment since they just ain’t got the guts to seize the moment and win!

November 23rd, 2014 at 5:37 pm

Who knew tennis was such a good metaphor for France’s loss of self-confidence in an increasingly “mondialised” world?

November 23rd, 2014 at 5:41 pm

eric isn’t tsonga one of your favourites?

agree it’s down to the french players, not the coach. surface is important in some cases (of course spain would pick clay versus americans, for example)but in the end it probably didn’t matter in this case.

November 23rd, 2014 at 5:47 pm

Yeah! Well, Tsonga and Monfils both, and I like quite like Gasquet’s game and Simon’s perseverance, as well. This weekend actually featured most of my favorite players…

November 23rd, 2014 at 5:54 pm

Hippy Chick Says:
Congrats again,but its as the man says this was a team effort for the guys,its not just about Roger himself,the thread title should read the Swiss team win the DC,after all doesnt Stan warrant a mention after beating Gael,nothing against Roger but its not right that he takes all the credit and steals all the glory….

—–

Did you really expect anything else? There was a bunch of harping that Federer had this “hole” in his resume…which is obviously nonsense. But, now that “hole” in the resume has been closed, there was no doubt, at least to me, that Federer would get a disproportionate amount of the attention.

All this being said, congratz to the Swiss team for going into hostile territory and getting the job done. There’s a reason they have slam winners and the French don’t. And there’s a reason Stan is the Man!

November 23rd, 2014 at 6:10 pm

I commend Federer for diverting the attention for their victory towards Wawrinka in his speech and how he let Stan lead the victory run holding the cup with the coach while he stayed in the back. He also draped his arm around Stan’s shoulder while the Swiss national anthem was being played. That’s a huge sign of appreciation to Stan’s contribution to the team.

November 23rd, 2014 at 7:15 pm

@Polo,
Agreed. Me thinks he did that for Giles ;).

November 23rd, 2014 at 7:45 pm

@SG1
Yes, no doubt, Stan deserved a ton of credit and Fed acknolwged it in the celebration.

November 23rd, 2014 at 7:47 pm

Why would Tom Gainey stick a byline on this thread that Federer wins the Davis Cup?? Tacky tacky ….if I were Roger I would be totally embarrassed and ask for a retraction. It was clearly won because of a team effort……

November 23rd, 2014 at 9:33 pm

Where is that byline that says “Federer wins Davis Cup” that Okiegal was referring to? Either they changed the article or Okiegal has started to see things that don’t exist?

November 23rd, 2014 at 10:31 pm

@Polo……Oh, excuse please…..I will rephrase that……”Roger Federer Wins the Davis Cup Title for Switzerland, Here’s The Video Of Match Point and the Celebration” ……..I stand corrected. Why not say Switzerland or the Swiss won Davis Cup, just think that would have been more appropriate, since it is a team effort…..I guess Okiegal has started seeing things that don’t exist…..sigh…..Polo, I promise to try to start seeing things more clearly and thanks for the heads up!! LOL

November 24th, 2014 at 1:36 am

Okiegal, I would advise you not to quote out of context. You failed to include “Title For Switzerland”. That was exactly what he did. He won the match which clinched it for Switzwerland. The author was factual in his report and if you read the rest, you would have understood the reasoning behind the title. Your complain and calling the writer tacky only shows your bias against Federer and in the process exposed your reading comprehension problem.

November 24th, 2014 at 4:39 am

Polo says: @Okiegal I would advise you not to quote out of context……what are going to do about it? Shoot me? I told you I stand corrected, what more can I say?….I am not biased against Federer, I know that when he won his match it clinched the title for the Swiss team. I just think the writer of this article could have worded it a little differently is all. I will work on my comprehension skills……..thanks for the heads up on that too!! Okey Dokey??

One more thing, I have said a lot of nice things about Roger on this forum, just ask Giles! He’s not my favorite player but love to watch him play…..especially when Rafa or Novak is on the other side of the net. We are usually treated to some real special tennis. I could have made some real snide remarks about his back and joined in with some of the others, but didn’t because I truly believe if had been able to compete against Novak, he would have….no, not at all am I biased against him…..Rafa just happens to be my favorite!

November 24th, 2014 at 5:59 am

SG1 November 23rd 6.10pm,did i expect anything else,probably not no lol?….

November 24th, 2014 at 6:32 am

Polo Says:
I commend Federer for diverting the attention for their victory towards Wawrinka in his speech and how he let Stan lead the victory run holding the cup with the coach while he stayed in the back. He also draped his arm around Stan’s shoulder while the Swiss national anthem was being played. That’s a huge sign of appreciation to Stan’s contribution to the team.

November 23rd, 2014 at 7:15 pm

Spot on Polo! :)

November 24th, 2014 at 6:40 am

Beautiful article titled “Loving Cup” from Steve Tignor. It made me tear up!

Here are a few excerpts:

“Switzerland’s first Davis Cup title wasn’t about a legacy; it was about a friendship.”

“Federer rejoined the team in 2014, when the odds were suddenly in their favor. This February, he made a surprise, virtually unannounced appearance to play his second opening-round tie in nine years, against the Serbs. By the time he had flown to Belgrade, it was too late for Novak Djokovic, who had skipped the tie, to do anything about it. ”

Federer was obviously pleased that the ambush in Serbia in February had led to victory in France in November.

“This is for them, for the team,” he said. “I’ve won enough in my career that I don’t need to complete my…everything, ticking off the box.”

It can be won by two men playing for their country, and for each other.

“I still love you, Roger,” Stan said.

http://www.tennis.com/pro-game/2014/11/loving-cup/53322/#.VHODmPnF8TV

November 24th, 2014 at 2:39 pm

skeezer Says:
@SG1
Yes, no doubt, Stan deserved a ton of credit and Fed acknolwged it in the celebration.

——

Fed deserves a ton of credit too. Going in badly hurt and pulling out two matches. Tremendously clutch. It’s easy for a guy with 17 slams and Fed’s obvious popularity to overshadow his teammates, which is usually the case. I just thought that Stan deserved to share the spotlight with Federer. By winning the first match, he gave the Swiss the edge they needed. Not to mention the fact he played really well under some pressure packed conditions. I don’t know if Stan can use the positive energy he picked up here to make a run at slam (like Novak did), but I hope so. While not as gifted as Federer, his backhand is worth the price of admission.

November 24th, 2014 at 8:02 pm

And the fact Federer played hurt shows you just how much he wanted to bring the Cup back to Switzerland. And all around team effort. Great playing, great coaching and great team spirit carried to the Swiss to the title.

Now, Federer has to take the next 5 or 6 weeks to get his back healthy. Of course this DC win and the consumption of alcohol that will follow should help to loosen things up.

November 24th, 2014 at 8:07 pm

What an amazing achievement by the goatest of all times.
Hope he and Stan continue the good run in 2015.
Stan is definitely capable of winning another few slams and hope this win gives him the confidence of getting closer and hopefully winning another slam.

November 25th, 2014 at 1:38 am

Just finished watching Feds match against Gas for the first time ( recorded ). Wow! As Gimelstob astutely said, Fed was “El Fuego”. Master class performance, even on Clay, Great fun stuff to watch.

November 25th, 2014 at 8:00 pm

skeezer, no sign of back injury, no?? ;)

Sorry, I couldn’t resist..

November 25th, 2014 at 8:15 pm

Wog Boy,

I honestly don’t know how you could even sink this low.

Concentrate on Rafa’s so called injuries.

Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

November 27th, 2014 at 1:08 pm

@ maaaaadmax. You are obsessed with all things Rafa!
Sorry, I couldn’t resist!

November 27th, 2014 at 1:14 pm

madmax, I’ll concentrate on what I want to concentrate and not on what I am told to concentrate, sorry for taking liberty to talk about the “injury” of his holiness..I’ll do it again when I feel like it, same as I am doing with Rafa injury.

November 27th, 2014 at 2:40 pm

^^just to add, at least, when Rafa is injured or “injured” he pulls out of next event and next event and so on at least it looks genuine, his holiness on the other side is playing next event (DC) and next event (IPL) and so on…with no sign of injury that lasted almost whiole season last year, this year lasted one day, or should I say one match. He said himself in London that he “had to be careful, considering his ages, with that sort of injury”, didn’t he?

November 27th, 2014 at 2:57 pm

Bird flu. Anthrax. SARS. Common cough and cold.

What goes around, comes around.

I am the eggman. Goo goo g’joob.

mew.

November 27th, 2014 at 3:08 pm

“What goes around, comes around”, exactly right.

November 27th, 2014 at 3:17 pm

@wog boy,
You’re right, no sign of back injury during that match. Glad there wasn’t.
:-)

November 27th, 2014 at 3:30 pm

skeezer, we had to put up with lot of crap few years ago (from mostly Fed fans), as elina pointed out, it is just right to give something back ;)

November 27th, 2014 at 3:46 pm

Ive never understood some posters,on one hand they say Rafas injuries are questionable,and this is when you see him pull out of tournies,even though you see him with splints on his wrist,strapping around his knees,and his back etc,and some even doubt the appendicitis,and the same ones post links from the press saying his body is now starting to break down and rebel as a consequence of his physical game….

November 28th, 2014 at 5:29 am

Its a shame fan groups feel the way they do about their favorites rivals sometimes,with Federer fans its anyone but Nadal,with Nadal fans its anyone but Federer,some Nadal fans didnt want Federer to win the DC to add more to his legacy,and the same thing for Nadal in that Federer fans wanted him to lose at the AO as he would make history with a second career GS,and at the FO they were pulling for Nole as Rafa wouldve had a GS for 9 years,its getting to the stage where posters would rather their favorites rivals fail,rather than seeing their favorites succeed,its becoming borderline obsessive….

November 28th, 2014 at 9:53 am

Sorry my mistake,make that 10 straight years….

November 28th, 2014 at 12:34 pm