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Nov/14

17

Fedrinka vs France

The complex relations of Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka may be the key determining factor to anoutcome of either ecstasy or agony for Switzerland when it clashes with France for the Davis Cup final in France.

You have to wonder how Wawrinka feels right now towards his big brother Federer who really didn’t need to win their World Tour Finals semifinal match on Saturday, yet Federer saved match points to win and then defaulted the final to Novak Djokovic.

With the monumental tie coming up vs. France, you have to wonder why couldn’t Federer – as Jack Kramer might say – subconsciously tank the win to struggling Stan who could surely use a confidence boost?

If ever there was a time for Federer to maybe throw a bone to a brother that was the match. But Federer refused to lose and scored the exciting win over his once again frustrated pal.

You have to wonder how Stan’s psyche is right now heading into the Davis Cup final. He has struggled mightily since the summer, winning only a small handful of matches. He performed poorly in the previous tie vs. Kazakhstan, especially in the doubles where he clearly choked under the pressure of playing with Federer against a duo of unheralded Kazakis.

Wawrinka was the hero of the Fedrinka Olympic doubles gold medal conquest in 08 but that win is ancient history. We haven’t seen Stan play sensational doubles in quite some time. Federer has been rather pedestrian in doubles himself lately.

France’s mindset going into this weekend is also a big question. France played the Davis Cup final four years ago and twelve years ago – in Serbia and Paris respectively – losing both in the final fifth live rubber. Four years ago Michael Llodra, a curious selection by Captain Guy Forget, was dominated by Viktor Troicki.

Twelve years ago, Paul Henri Mathieu was up two sets to love vs. Mikhail Youzhny in the live fifth final singles rubber but blew the match – and the Davis Cup.

For Federer, the Davis Cup is the last missing piece of his illustrious career, he finally now has reached the final and is just three matches from finally winning the oh so elusive, historic, fabled…Davis Cup.

The nerves, stress and tension are going to be at catastrophic levels for all the competitors of the final for both teams. Add a very vocal 27,000 French fans into the mix and the drama is going to be spectacular to witness.

Federer. Wawrinka. Gasquet. Monfils. Tsonga. Simon or Benneteau. What a cast of characters. Nostradamus would not be able to predict this tie.

Can you?

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35 comments

  • Danm · November 18, 2014 at 1:41 am

    Got to go with Switzerland, Scoop. Good choice by France to put it on red clay, but when is the last time a Frenchman performed well on the dirt? Monfils and Tsonga can play well on clay, but would you pick either to beat Fed? I wouldn’t. I think he’ll win both of his doubles matches. And although Stan only won one more match on clay after sweeping through Monte Carlo, he did win a clay event so I’m betting he can pull out a win in one of his singles matches.

    The Frenchmen have underperformed this year really. Except for Tsonga in Canada and Monfils in New York, what other Frenchman posted a really good big event. I’m going with the two guys who in the Top 5. If they’re fatigued from London that will be a problem, but I think they’ll have enough left in the tank.

  • Gaurang · November 18, 2014 at 4:10 am

    I believe Fed would have physically recovered for the davis cup. He let go of the final for 4 reasons I think, in some combination:
    – He had a fight with Stan the previous night that went long and he may have not been feeling psychologically well and prepared to play an intense final match. Also this may have strained him more since his wife is also involved in the dispute with Stan.
    – The one thing remaining from Fed’s repertoire is Davis Cup. This might be the only chance he may get to play the Davis Cup Finals since Switzerland may never reach another final before Fed retires. So obviously he wanted to not worsen his injury in this match to loose the only chance to win the Davis Cup.
    – He does not care about the world tour finals so much; he has already won 5 times.
    – The struggle for No.1 ranking for this year no longer remains.
    – He actually had some back injury.

    I think he will recover for the Davis Cup, and Switzerland is going to win it obviously. Gasquet and Monfils are vastly inferior to Fed and Stan, Tsonga is only a mild threat.

  • Dan markowitz · November 18, 2014 at 6:58 am

    What kind of fight did Fed have with Wawa that Mirka was involved? I didn’t hear anything about that. Also, I wouldn’t say Wawa is vastly superior to Monfils, especially on clay. If I were France I wouldn’t even consider playing Gasquet. Not the way he’s looked of late. Maybe in doubles w Tsonga or Benny, but not singles.

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 18, 2014 at 9:03 am

    Yes I heard about Mirka heckling Stan, but did not see it. Hard to believe, anyone from Team Fed would show an ugly side. If this is true that Mirka heckled Stan. Unfathomable. If Stan ever wants to be his own man he has to stop being Fed’s sidekick. Stan just basically completely defers to Fed, like a part of him is afraid to beat the King. I also heard something about Mirka skipping Basel this year, any truth to that? Then Leif Shiras interviewed Fed after one of the WTF matches and asked jokingly if Mirka was the boss regarding off day decisions for him and he smiled and gave the canned answer, “A little bit.” Trouble and discontent could be cooking with Team Fed. And if Stan chokes the final vs. France, it could get interesting. If Switzerland does win, wonder who gets ALL the credit?

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 18, 2014 at 9:09 am

    I’m picking France Dan. I think France is going to be up for this like never before. This is everything for Monf, Tsonga, Gasquet. This is their major final. This is their number one. This is everything for these guys. This is their chance to finally do something big in tennis. This would be by far the biggest accomplishment in the careers of Monf, Tsonga and Gasquet. They have to be tired of being second and third fiddles to Rafa Fed and Djokovic. This is their time to shine. I think they are fresher and will feed off the home crowd of 27,000. They may be the more united and together team if the speculations of a Fedrinka rift are true. Togetherness and team unity are very important in Davis Cup. The team has to be close. I remember USA vs. Spain in USA and the Spanish team were arms around each other during the anthems, USA players stood apart. Of course USA lost. The Swiss team has a weird dynamic, it’s more like The Federer team, more so than Switzerland. Fed is larger than life. Fed’s worldwide presence is almost larger than his home nation’s. Fed and Stan have to be on the same page. If Stan starts choking, will Fed be able to save him? Fascinating tie this will be.

  • Danm · November 18, 2014 at 10:10 am

    It is a fascinating tie. Can’t believe France has a 27,000-seat indoor arena to watch tennis in. That’s rivaling if I remember right the bullfight arena the Spanish staged the 2004 Davis Cup tie finals against the U.S. in. I still like Fed to pull through here and maybe pull a Sampras on red clay in Moscow and win all three points.

    On another note, just watched this HBO show on the Pacquiao-Algeri fight. Algeri’s a fascinating boxer, has a degree from Stony Brook. Fight’s next Saturday, does he have any chance of beating Pacquiao?

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 18, 2014 at 2:38 pm

    So Mirka supposedly called Stan a “cry baby” and he objected. He said she did this before at Wimbledon, talking during match. John McEnroe said Fed and Stan had a strong conversation in the locker room about it. Clearly a rift. Seems Mirka doesn’t like Stan getting uppity to beat Roger, as if Stan should know his place. But she never says anything to bother Rafa and Djokovic. Seems they are trying to hold Stan down in his position as Roger’s sidekick B side lil bro, whatever you want to call it. Stan has and shows too much respect for Roger, he has to change that dynamic and become a killer. If Switzerland wins the Davis Cup we know who will get all the credit. Stan has got to be tired of being a second and third fiddle to Roger. But it’s almost blasphemy if he dares to beat Roger. Such a weird predicament for poor Stan. I see this rift hurting Switzerland but was just talking to Kevin Arias about it and he thinks it will help unite Team Switzerland. Gonna be very interesting to see if Fedrinka can patch up their differences and unite. Pacquiao should beat Algieri who doesn’t have much power and though he is a good boxer, he was very fortunate to get the decision vs. Ruslan Provodnikov. Pacquiao should win decisively with the potential billion dollar fight with Mayweather looming, though Mayweather is still trying to duck Pacquiao going on five years now. Pac has looked super sharp and fast in the gym videos I’ve seen.

  • Andrew Miller · November 18, 2014 at 4:45 pm

    France. They dont win majors but they play with passion and given the federinka issues and fact it is only five matches or three matches max per player…passion and desire win over cool . Tsonga and Monfils? One match only? Or Simon finding range? Even Gasquet and his backhand firing on all cylinders? France. Because Federer’s desire to complete his hof trophy collection is no match for an actual team that plays with its heart on sleeve. Worse still for federer with certain insults launched at him in a language he has a love/hate relationship with given his teenage years spent in french speaking switzerland far from german speaking home. No,to me this is about the show , and the french are ready to summon three musketeers, while the swiss have two but who cant make amends soon enough.

    France for the win. Maybe even in a landslide 3-0.

  • danm · November 18, 2014 at 4:47 pm

    What a great story this Algieri is. Lived or still lives in his parents’ basement. Has a degree in nutrition from Stony Brook Univ. Very humble, articulate guy. I hardly watch boxing anymore, but I’m curious to check in to see how Algieri does. I can’t remember seeing a boxer as nice, courteous and well-mannered as this guy. He looks like he has no ego.

    I think you might be playing up the rift between Fed and Wawa a bit much. I haven’t seen much of what’s come out, but they looked cordial if not outright friendly at the end of their last match. And I think you’re also wrong saying Wawa is still in Fed’s shadow. He’s the one who won a slam this year not Fed. He also beat Fed in the Monte Carlo finals. Let’s see who rings the bell for Switzerland in this tie.

    Kevin Arias, he’s Jimmy’s brother? Do you know how good and how old Arias’s son(s) is/are? You’d think with Jimmy as their dad he/they would have a leg up on the junior competition.

  • Andrew Miller · November 18, 2014 at 7:42 pm

    Federer might be too big to be under anyones shadow. Listen the rift between them is no match for a real team ready to fight and motivated, and that is France. France wants to play hero and spoiler and has the players to do it.Federer probably well remembers the loss to a more passionate Davis Cup team in Australia, so at least he has that memory of being close to victory but losing out when not getting the stakes. It is a bickering set of egos vs what seems like a fired up and unified team – we will see who is who soon. Maybe federer and wawrinka can put the conflict to good use – they are both bigger personalities than the swiss davis cup coach, like kobe and shaq.

  • Harold · November 19, 2014 at 6:09 am

    Mrs. Fed is an ex-player, I’m sure she doesn’t scream after faults. Wawa might have been pissed that Lihti sat in Feds box, a week before the DC final. Might have been a good idea to sit by himself.He does sit with Norman when Feds not playing.
    Reminds of the French Open final when Agassi played Courier, and Nick B, sat in Agassi’s box, really pissed off Courier and was pretty much the end of their working together. In the end of that one,Nick B made the right choice, just not the proper way.
    Wawa does bitch a lot during matches. If the Swiss lose, maybe he’ll take his rackets, change his passport to his Polish ancestry, and team up with Jerzy boy.

    Last note, this whole story was started by French photogs, maybe they have a slight agenda. On the other hand, Fed has avoided pressers, I’m sure he doesn’t want to be asked about it

  • Dan Markowitz · November 19, 2014 at 7:54 am

    Interesting, as usual, Harold comes in with the real scoop, that this whole pow wow was started by French photographers. Look, as I said before, Fed didn’t seem upset with Wawa at the end of their match. This is much ado about nothing. The big Q is whether Wawa will stand up to the pressure and perform at his highest level.

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 19, 2014 at 8:14 am

    It’s getting a lot of discussion in tennis warehouse.com forum. There is a lot of meat to the story. Of course Fed is going to conceal any emotion and play mr. perfect like everything is fine with Stan. But something happened. And we will see how it manifests in Lille.

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 19, 2014 at 8:37 am

    Sidenotes: Loving the Champions Tennis League in India televised by Tennis Channel. Great tennis great show. It’s like Hopman Cup and WTT and Davis Cup combined. Saw Venus ripped a Hingis serve and almost beheaded Youzhny at net, her and FLO came back and won 65. Then Hingis beat Venus in singles 63, good battle. Philippousis came back and beat Enqvist. Flipp seemed really into it engaging with his team and young Indian players. FLo seemed in his own world, not talking at all with Enqvist as they sat watching. Luke Jensen is paired with Prakash Amritraj doing TV and they are great together. Prakash gives good insights. He said he hit recently in LA with Pete Sampras – Luke called him a “namedropper” lol – he said Sampras told him “Serve and volley still works but nobody does it good enough today.” He also said he played Hingis in mixed a few times and she has a body language that tempts you to challenge her and she is so tough at net that she burns you. Luke said Hingis is always smiling like a crocodile, which conveys the message I am going to eat you up. Fun great tennis, loving this CTL.

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 19, 2014 at 8:45 am

    Also saw the TC replay of 2004 Davis Cup final Nadal vs. Roddick. I forgot Rafa’s intensity. A Rod served first and Rafa won the first two points, and he fist pumped after each one. He must have fist pumped 50 times in that first set which Rod won 76. Rafa was so quick and his arm had more whip and speed back then. Rafa stalled like a minute on the key 54 tiebreak point then when he was ready Rod stalled him and it seemed to mess Rafa’s timing as he missed the first forehand of the rally wide. Both played incredible tennis. Rafa eventually grinded Rod down in the second set and took over. Incredible display by the teen and also by Roddick who was #2 then. Such a pleasure to watch the young underdog Rafa taking over the tennis world. He’s still great to watch but he was really at his best as the underdog kid fighting to get to the top. He’d fight you to kill you on the court but also showed respect at the same time. Best player I ever saw and I’d take him over anybody on any surface if my life was on the line. He found a way and nobody played harder or with more intensity and passion. Two fist pumps after the first two points of the match. Amazing. Adore Rafa, forgot what a wonder he was as a teen and in his early 20s.

  • Dan Markowitz · November 19, 2014 at 9:09 am

    I was watching that match, too, the first set, and it reminded me of what a butcher ARod was with his volleys. I know it’s clay and maybe footwork-wise it’s harder to volley on clay, but his hands at the net when you compare him to past American greats like Stan Smith, Johnny Mac and Sampras were very mediocre.

    You put Roddick into the Hall, Scoop? Got to a lot of slam finals, but only won the one and that one was marred by it being over JCF. Top 10 many many years, but isn’t the Hall for a higher standard. I know Chang’s in, but he beat Lendl and Edberg to win his slam not Nalby and JCF.

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 19, 2014 at 11:59 am

    Yes Roddick is getting my vote to Newport, he was year end number one, that’s a remarkable achievement and I think any player who reaches the ATP world number one should be automatic for Newport, Marcelo Rios included. Roddick also won a major and Davis Cup, over $20 million and 32 singles titles. Great tenacious super competitive warrior gladiator who is underrated because of the great players who proceeded and overshadowed him.

  • Harold · November 19, 2014 at 12:22 pm

    You automatically get in by just being number 1? Even if it’s just for an hour,in a year Agassi was doing Meth, Sampras was getting his heart broken or something, Korda was in a roid cycle, Kuerten could only play on clay,like Rios? Wheres Kafelnikov then?

  • Andrew Miller · November 19, 2014 at 4:08 pm

    No, no vote for Roddick for Hall of Fame. Superior to Gaston Gaudio but hard to check the box on a player who goes down as “excellent” but not among the greats 🙁

    As for the Federer-Wawrinka scuffle, maybe Harold’s right in that this is a ruse. Maybe there was already too much tension and pressure in Switzerland or so much on the line during their WTF semifinal. So rare for Federer to dodge a match, never happens! Or almost never happens.

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 19, 2014 at 6:14 pm

    Ben Rothenberg tweeted that John McEnroe said Stan and Fed had a strong discussion in locker room after match. Something happened. This is no ruse or smokescreen. I think something is cooking here. Luthi sat in the Fed box, he should have been neutral and fair and sat somewhere else. If I were Stan I would be bothered by Luthi favoring Fed, he should be neutral. Yes, Harold Rios, Kafel and ALL number ones in. It’s far more difficult to reach number one than even reach the Hall of Fame. Look at how many Hall of Famers never got to number one in singles or doubles. NUMBER ONE is HUGE. All numero unos into Newport. Even if they were number one for a week or two. There are no free ATP points, they earned it. Number One, the best in the world, is the ultimate achievement in tennis.

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 19, 2014 at 7:12 pm

    If Fed’s back was a problem during the Stan SF in London, why would he fight so hard to win that match? Why not just retire in the third set? The Davis Cup is far, FAR more important. It reminds of when Sampras was trying to break the Wimbledon record, the whole first and second week he had everyone, fans and media, talking about his foot or ankle injury whatever it was, as he kept winning matches, showing no sign of any injury. That way all the media attention was directed at his foot and NOT the pressure of going for and talking about going for the Wimbledon record. It could be possible Fed is using the ‘back’ talk as a smokescreen to direct all the talk and attention to his “back” and not the difficult task at hand, to beat France in France in front of a rowdy 27,000. Also it could also trick France and soften up the fans to be more gracious and merciful to Fed and Stan. Which in effect would nullify the home court advantage of France. I think if the back was so bad and so bothersome in the Wawrinka match he would have retired and given it to his teammate Stan. It meant really nothing. Just a theory. Now don’t shoot me for floating this unconventional idea.

  • Andrew Miller · November 19, 2014 at 7:27 pm

    Hall of Fame is small, elite, needs to stay that way. Roddick to me, great player and of course, champion – he proved that. But like Chang, his only slam was US Open, and with one slam he goes into the largest category of “consider but spot not guaranteed” – JC Ferrero, Al Costa, Gaston Gaudio – a better player among players with similar credentials. Feel bad for Roddick because if he held on 1 more year, most of his opponents “got worse” – he’d still have issues with Ferrer but, save Djokovic and a healthy Nadal, most other big opponents he’d be even money. He may have even handled Federer in 2013 at least. I’d give him a shot in the last 15 months of making another slam final, especially this year where everything seemed to be up for grabs.

    Too bad but as a player only they know what they want to do at the time and they have no crystal ball either. Dan’s point, made often, about Stefanki seems to be the biggest one – that Stefanki tamed Roddick’s game, emphasizing the fitness over the power and Roddick’s game became a shadow of itself – the sonic boom serve remained big but not what it was.

    I think Dan saw it. Stefanki did a good job keeping Fernando Gonzalez inside the lines, but Roddick wasn’t the same player as Gonzalez. But hand it to Roddick, he tried every coach and every technique. Even though he did get back to the slam finals with his new coach at Wimbledon 2005 (brad something?), Connors at US Open 2006 and then Stefanki for Wimbledon 2009, rarely did the Roddick from 2003, 2004 make a cameo. Only times I can remember – Dubai 2008 and the Miami 2010 tournament, some of the most heroic tennis of Roddick’s career.

    So his best tennis was certainly some of the best stuff – Roddick’s the best U.S. player since Sampras and Agassi and won a Davis Cup while being probably the best Davis Cup player in U.S. history since McEnroe (probably behind McEnenroe and the Bryan Brothers). But in terms of the individual scoreboard, it’s debatable whether he was “better” than Chang – he played some of the most courageous tennis. That’s what will last with Roddick, he put it all out there. No complaints from a fan point of view.

    I think under Gilbert he had one more slam in him. And I think with the right coaching he probably had another slam semifinal or even slam final in him.

  • Andrew Miller · November 19, 2014 at 10:14 pm

    Challenger news:
    Challenger tour finals is on.

    Berankis keeps on winning! He does quarters or better every time out. I think Berankis is heading for a career high soon.

    Montevideo: nice to see Quinzi on the board.
    Lima: Garin having a nice tournament .

    Duckworth also doing well this challenger season.

  • Andrew Miller · November 20, 2014 at 12:53 pm

    France still the pick.

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 20, 2014 at 10:34 pm

    Mirka should have never insulted or disrespected Stan like she did. Stan has always treated Fed with the utmost respect. They are patching it up publicly but privately you have to wonder. My pick is France too.

  • Gaurang · November 21, 2014 at 4:27 am

    Scoop agree to all what you have said. Stan respects Fed greatly, and has always been playing the second fiddle. Now in the last year or two, he has come out strong, won a slam, and reached the top 4 ranking. He should now not downplay himself — while still respecting Fed. It is natural that Mirka would try to make sure Stan stays below Fed and may have unconsciously heckled Stan — Stan should object. He should get whatever ranking he can get by the quality of his play at that moment, even though in the bigger picture, he is obviously second to Fed. Fed should also be a good sport, and give Stan the respect he deserves (he does respect him a lot, but maybe not enough to him go above him in the ranking).

    Anyway, I am sure they will sort this out. They’ve been close friends for a very long time, and have tremendous respect for each other. The only question is whether they will sort this out before Davis Cup. My answer is yes, they will. They know what are up for — its a Davis Cup final. They’ve got to win it. Which they will. Fed will win both of his matches. France will win the doubles. Stan will win one of his matches, and thus Switzerland will be the new Davis Cup champion… is my bet on.

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 21, 2014 at 10:49 am

    Agree Gaurang. Wow what a sensational performance by Stan under big pressure he came out and got the job done in style. Jo had him on the ropes a few times but Stan escaped and turned the tables every time after the second set. Stan’s best tennis today puts Wawrinkerer in the driver seat now. La Monf now only has to play the match of his life. Expect Fed will be 100% and his movement will be peRFect.

  • Harold · November 21, 2014 at 11:52 am

    Why does Lille have an indoor arena that seats 27,000? Team Handball? The place is huge.

    Monfils played an amazing first set. Interesting to see if he can keep it up

  • loreley · November 21, 2014 at 12:45 pm

    It’s a football aka soccer stadium.

  • Harold · November 21, 2014 at 12:50 pm

    They would have to take out 5000 or more seats to make room for a soccer field.

    Maybe Yannick Noah concerts..

  • loreley · November 21, 2014 at 1:06 pm

    They removed the football field to get more seats.

  • Harold · November 21, 2014 at 2:47 pm

    They play indoor soccer in 20 thousand arenas in France?

  • loreley · November 21, 2014 at 4:16 pm

    Yes. It’s multi-functional. They built for the Euro 2016 for 282 million Euro. But they forgot to built a heating. They can open the roof.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stade_Pierre-Mauroy

  • Harold · November 25, 2014 at 2:52 pm

  • Scoop Malinowski · November 25, 2014 at 5:05 pm

    I see no problem with any of those quotes, seems a mountain out of a mole hill is being made. Mirka should have been there calling everyone “crybaby.” )

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