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Following Stan Wawrinka’s remarkable showings on the first two days of Davis Cup action, the Swiss No. 2 may get a chance to take part in the decisive fifth rubber to potentially secure the historic title for the Swiss team. As arguably the MVP of the week, he has earned his place in the match against fellow Davis Cup standout Gael Monfils. As both players set themselves for a potential clash, they will look to end a 2-2 split in the head-to-head series.

Stan Wawrinka followed up on an outstanding opening day of action at the Davis Cup, where he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets to secure the opening point for the Swiss team, with an even more impressive showing in the doubles rubber with partner Roger Federer. The Swiss pair dominated the encounter against Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet and eventually defeated them in straight sets with minimal resistance.

Wawrinka, in particular, was brimming with confidence on the court, as he struck the majority of his shots with complete disdain for the talents of the opposing team, and flaunted his backhand in ways that immediately sapped the confidence out of the French pairing.

In what he later proclaimed to be one of the “top three matches of his career” Gael Monfils put on an outstanding performance against a weakened Federer to defeat the Swiss star 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 and level the tie after the opening day of action. He appeared possessed and focused on a single goal – one which he achieved with relative ease.

This marks the fifth time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with the series split at 2-2. This marks their first meeting in over three years and if it just so happens to be a live rubber, it may make for the most entertaining fifth rubber in recent memory.

Prediction: Stan Wawrinka in Five Sets

Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka took a crucial 2-1 lead for the Swiss team on Saturday afternoon when they defeated the French pairing of Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet 6-3, 7-5, 6-4.

Stan Wawrinka followed up on an outstanding opening day of action at the Davis Cup, where he defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets to secure the opening point for the Swiss team, with an even more impressive showing in the doubles rubber, as they dominated the encounter to win in straight sets with minimal resistance.

“I’m really happy with the way we were playing today. We knew what we had to do and we played or game. We did a good job.

“We know each other so well. It is easy for us to play together. Federer was struggling a little bit yesterday but it was good to win the doubles today. It is good for us to be 2-1 tonight, means we have two chances to win this tomorrow. I’m ready to play – I’m fit. We’ll see.”

After a less-than-stellar start to his Davis Cup run, Roger Federer silenced doubters when he, along with his confident partner, dominated the doubles rubber against the French team. 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 Lille.

The Saturday doubles rubber 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.

Following his four-set loss to Stan Wawrinka in the opening rubber at the Davis Cup final, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga was critical of the lack of support from the French crowd in attendance.

While the event featured a record-breaking crowd of 27,432 spectators in the stands, Tsonga felt that the crowd was leaning more towards supporting the Swiss team rather than their own countrymen on home soil.

”When the teams were introduced, they applauded Stan more than us, Roger (Federer) more than us,” a dejected Tsonga said. ”We heard the Swiss spectators more than we heard the French ones.”

Although he does not use it as an excuse for his 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 loss to Wawrinka, Tsonga did admit that being booed in France was not the ideal atmosphere for the final.

”I was booed in my own country, maybe not by the French spectators but by the Swiss spectators. It’s annoying,”

Even Wawrinka noticed that his countrymen were getting more support than the French team playing on home soil.

”I think because of the match maybe we were having more support from the Swiss people than the French guy,” Wawrinka said. ”I think it’s tough to get all the noise from the people really upstairs.”

The Davis Cup final is tied at 1-1 following the conclusion of the opening day of action. Following Wawrinka’s four set victory over Tsonga, Gael Monfils leveled the tie with a dominant straight sets victory over a clearly wounded Federer.

It was a rubber that was considered to be pivotal for whichever team managed to take the early lead. That team was Switzerland, as their No. 2 player Stan Wawrinka opened up the proceedings with a four-set victory over the French No. 1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

Although Wawrinka suffered from a lapse in concentration in the second set, he managed to maintain command of the entire encounter apart from that and eventually defeated Tsonga 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to give his team an essential 1-0 lead heading into the second rubber of the day.

The world No. 4 hit a whopping 61 winners against Tsonga and was clearly in form with his piercing backhand shots. While Tsonga put forth a valiant effort, he was simply unable to change the tide in the match. Following his disappointing conclusion to the World Tour Finals in London last week, where he failed to capitalize on four match points against Roger Federer, it appears ‘Stan the Man’ is ready to claim one final title this season.

“I’m happy with the way I’m feeling on the clay. They were a little bit maybe too focused on Roger. I did my job. I showed them I’m not no. 4 for nothing.”

In the second match of the day, Frenchman Gael Monfils put on a superb performance against a visibly struggling Roger Federer, beating him in straight sets 6-1 6-4 6-3.

More to follow…

While the Davis Cup final between Switzerland and France was already a highly anticipated event expected to garner an extraordinary contingency of fans from both nations cramming to see their countrymen make them proud, few anticipated the crowd to break the previous record set for an officially sanctioned tennis match.

However, that was certainly the case, as the ITF announced on Friday morning ahead of the opening rubber that 27,432 tickets were sold on Friday, which overtook the Spain vs USA Davis Cup Final in 2004.

The Stade Pierre Mauroy cost 282 million euros to erect.

While this will remain the record for an officially sanctioned match, the actual record for a tennis match is the famous “Battle of the Sexes” challenge match in 1973 between Bobby Riggs and Billie Jean King at the Houston Astrodome which drew a crowd of more than 30,000, even though it was not officially sanctioned by the sport’s governing body.

An estimated television audience between 50-90 million viewers witnessed King control the encounter against Riggs, thus beating him in three straight sets.

The Davis Cup Final will take place over three days: Day 1 for singles matches, Day 2 for the doubles rubber, and Day 3 for the reverse singles rubbers if necessary.

Following his perfect conclusion to the 2014 season, Novak Djokovic has announced his schedule for the first three months of the coming year. Amongst those mentioned events will be a debut appearance in Doha.

Djokovic will begin 2015 with an exhibition event on Jan. 2 at the Mubadala World Tennis Championships. The event will also feature the likes of Rafael Nadal, Stanislas Wawrinka, Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils.

The world No. 1 will then make his debut at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open, which takes place between Jan. 4-10. This will mark the first time since 2009 that Djkovic plays a professional tournament ahead of the season-opening Grand Slam in Melbourne.

In February, Djokovic will play the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships, which begins February 23rd. He will then lead his country in a Davis Cup tie against Croatia in March.

And finally, after completing the Indian Wells-Miami double this season, Djokovic will look to begin his hard court season with replicate performances this season at the BNP Paribas Open and the Miami Open presented by Itau.