USA def. Switzerland 5-0
If anyone believed that the US would win 5-0 away from home on clay against the Swiss, they'd have been sectioned and fitted up for a straitjacket.
We are not losing 5-0 to these guys
First of all the Americans played very well, Isner probably his best overall match and Davis Cup matches are different it's not just about yourself some players thrive on it and others don't. Jim Courier sitting their in a suit looking like a tool and pulled a dickhead move after they won the tie. At the end of the interview conducted by Swiss TV, the interview asked nicely "Would you answer a question in French". No, with a smarmy look even by his standards "I'll save it for Paris". There was no need for it.
Now onto Roger Federer who decided to make a rare appearance on the first round of a Davis Cup tie. Federer has a curious attitude to Davis Cup, for someone who says they love and respect the history of the sport, then it's know that this is the most traditional of tennis events. Sure, his attitude isn't as bad as say Andy Murray, though not to the extent of Jimmy Connors and Michael Chang, for all their poor attitudes at least they didn't pontificate about the history of the game.
Where the farce begins, some would say it was Stani Wawrinka losing to Mardy Fish in the first rubber. It definitely wasn't a good match from either guy, the court didn't have enough clay on it, didn't have enough time to settle say unlike the indoor clay court used in Bamberg for the Germany tie. Wawrinka has been in poor form for quite some time, yet he was still good enough to defeat Hewitt on grass to get Switzerland into the World Cup.
Wawrinka, how did I lose this
What really cemented the Fribourg farce was Roger Federer, the usual script here is if Wawrinka loses a match on Day 1, then Federer wins and it's 1-1 with the doubles being up in the air. First set was going along to planned, but Isner who was getting some massive bounce off the court, he almost did the Bryan Sheldon kicking the serve into the stand. Normally Federer handles the big servers well by blocking the returns and outmanouvering them around the baseline. Isner serving well was getting enough short balls and he can hit his forehand big when he has enough time, he was gaining confidence and was able to give Federer his first singles defeat in 9 years.
Federer and Wawrinka didn't play well in the doubles and were taken down by the scratch pair of Mike Bryan/Fish. Once the defeat was complete then the scapegoating began as per usual Stani Wawrinka copped most of the criticism. He's known in Switzerland as the "guy who always loses", and after this weekend this gives more fodder to that. Of course it wasn't just down to Wawrinka and Federer deserves some of the blame as well.
It's easy to be a humble winner, people learn more about themselves and others in defeat. From a personal view it's better for honest answers instead of PR bullshit that is rampant these days. With that openness and honesty, some comments are going to come out and cause controversy and Federer's comments blaming Wawrinka for the poor performance has done that. The original comments from the article with translation below.
Friends forever
Federer: «Déçu? Non pas tant que ça»
«Stanislas Wawrinka n’a pas fait son meilleur match en simple. C’est dommage, à cause de cette défaite, on n’a pas pu mettre les Etats-Unis sous pression.»
"Stanislas Wawrinka did not play his best in the singles. It's a shame because this loss meant we were not able to put the USA under pressure."
The above comments from Federer, differ from the win as a team, lose as a team mantra, while not taking responsibility for his performances. Federer toadies who will use this loss and comments to justify that he didn't take Davis Cup seriously during his peak years.
Chau Federer
Naturally the usual arguments come out, he had to do it on his own. He didn't have a good enough number 2 player in Wawrinka, it didn't wash then and it doesn't wash now. Ivan Ljubicic in 2005 carried Croatia to a Davis Cup, he won 11 of 12 matches, the only loss Ljubo had was to Dominik Hrbaty another Davis Cup warrior in the final. The only singles match his deputy Ancic won was the last match in the final against Slovakia, after he lost all his singles matches beforehand.
Björn Borg owning the Davis Cup
1975 World Group Final
SWE d. TCH 3-2 in SWE 19 Dec - 21 Dec 1975
Kungliga Tennishallen, Stockholm, Sweden Carpet (I)
R1 W HREBEC, Jiri 6-1 6-3 6-0
R3 W KODES, Jan/ ZEDNIK, Vladimir, Partnering BENGTSON, Ove 6-4 6-4 6-4
R4 W KODES, Jan 6-4 6-2 6-2
1975 Inter-Zonal Semifinal
SWE d. CHI 4-1 in SWE 19 Sep - 21 Sep 1975
Bastad Tennis Stadium, Bastad, Sweden Clay (O)
R1 W CORNEJO, Patricio 3-6 6-4 7-5 6-3
R3 W CORNEJO, Patricio/ FILLOL, Jaime, Partnering BENGTSON, Ove 7-5 6-2 3-6 6-3
R5 W FILLOL, Jaime 6-1 6-2 6-1
1975 Europe Final
SWE d. ESP 3-2 in ESP 25 Jul - 27 Jul 1975
Real Club de Tenis de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Clay (O)
R2 W HIGUERAS, Jose 6-3 6-1 6-1
R3 L GISBERT, Juan/ ORANTES, Manuel, Partnering BENGTSON, Ove 4-6 3-6 1-6
R4 W ORANTES, Manuel 6-4 6-2 6-2
1975 Europe Semifinal
SWE d. URS 3-2 in URS 18 Jul - 20 Jul 1975
Lieupe Tennis Club, Yurmala, USSR Clay (O)
R2 W METREVELI, Aleksandr 7-5 6-3 6-3
R3 L KAKULIA, Teimuraz/ METREVELI, Aleksandr, Partnering BENGTSON, Ove 1-6 4-6 6-8
R5 W VOLKOV, Anatoli 8-6 6-1 6-0
1975 Europe Quarterfinal
SWE d. FRG 3-2 in FRG 16 May - 18 May 1975
Rot-Weiss Stadion, West Berlin, West Germany Clay (O)
R2 W MEILER, Karl 6-1 14-12 8-6
R4 W POHMANN, Hans-Jurgen 3-6 6-0 6-0 6-3
1975 Europe Quarterfinal
SWE d. POL 4-1 in POL 02 May - 04 May 1975
Legia Stadium, Warsaw, Poland Clay (O)
R2 W DRZYMALSKI, Henrik 6-0 6-0 6-2
R3 W FIBAK, Wojtek/ NIEDZWIEDZKI, Jacek, Partnering BENGTSON, Ove 6-4 6-2 6-4
R4 W FIBAK, Wojtek 6-4 6-1 8-6
Björn Borg did it in 1975 with a partner worse than Wawrinka. He went 15-2 with only losing in doubles. So the excuse is hollow during his peak years which would have been the best chance to win a Davis Cup, he just chose to focus on his own career. That in itself is fine, but the comments saying that he cares about Davis Cup and not accepting his own share of the blame show otherwise.
Mike Bryan and Fish don't know how the US won 5-0
The US are still stunned that they won 5-0 away from home on clay against a team with one of the greatest players of all time, as they say it's not always about individuals.
1 comment:
that last pic is hilarious ...
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