Tennis News

After splitting matches in the opening day of action at the Davis Cup final, the doubles rubber on Saturday relieved some of the pressure from the Swiss team as they prepare for the reverse singles rubbers on Sunday afternoon. First up, Roger Federer will attempt to make history and complete his trophy collection with his first ever Davis Cup title. He can achieve that goal with a victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the opening rubber of the day.

After a less-than-stellar start to his Davis Cup run, Roger Federer silenced doubters when he, along with partner Stan Wawrinka, dominated the doubles rubber against the formidable team of Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet. He appeared confident and pain-free as he volleyed his way to a 2-1 lead over the French team heading into the final day of action in Lillie.

Undoubtedly, this will likely mean that he is fit and ready to perform against the French No. 1 on Sunday.

While he had arrived on the practice courts early Saturday morning, which could have been interpreted as a sign that he was expected to play the doubles rubber with Gasquet, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was rumoured to have opted out of the rubber because he didn’t “feel right about playing.” Whether this is an effect from his four-set loss to Wawrinka the previous afternoon, or simply the pressure of performing in the crucial doubles rubber, it does not bode well for his chances against the Swiss No. 1 on Sunday.

The last time that Roger Federer and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga met on the professional tour was in the final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto – an encounter that showed Tsonga at his most aggressive, which is why he won the match in straight sets. However, with Federer leading the overall head-to-head series 11-5, this is unlikely to be the case this time around, as the pressure of the momentous occasion will not allow Tsonga to play as freely as he may like. Having already lost the first rubber of the tie to Wawrinka, he will be desperate to find some confidence against a potentially weakened Federer.

Whether he finds the magic is anyone’s guess.

Prediction: Roger Federer in Four Sets

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.”