Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka each have Grand Slam singles titles as well as Olympic gold together in doubles. Now they have got the chance to win Switzerland’s first Davis Cup.
Federer carried Switzerland to their first final in 22 years, beating Fabio Fognini 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (6/4) in the opening reverse singles on Sunday for a winning 3-1 lead over Italy and into the Nov. 21 to Nov. 23 decider against France, who beat defending champions the Czech Republic 4-1.
“It’s fabulous to share in this moment,” said Federer, who was hoisted on the shoulders of Wawrinka and captain Severin Luethi for a lap of honor to the delight of a noisy 18,000-plus crowd at the Palexpo indoor arena.
Switzerland have reached the final only once before, losing in 1992 against a US team of Andre Agassi, Jim Courier, John McEnroe and Pete Sampras.
“It’s nice that we are going to have the opportunity to do something very special at the end of the year,” Federer said.
Federer, who has won 17 Grand Slam singles titles, was intrigued to see if the French will use home-team advantage to opt for clay or hard courts, potentially in Lille.
The French are setting their sights on a first Davis Cup title since 2001, and know Federer presents a big obstacle to that.
“Federer is a monument of tennis, this is a dream final,” Richard Gasquet said.
Gael Monfils wrapped up the contest a 5-7, 6-4, 7-5 defeat of Lukas Rosol after Jiri Vesely salvaged some pride for two-time defending champions the Czech Republic by beating Julien Benneteau 6-4, 6-3 in a consolation win in the first reverse singles.
“There is no need for motivation when you are in the final, but hosting Federer adds an extra something to a sumptuous final,” Benneteau said.
Also on the weekend, the US, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada and Croatia won playoffs to qualify for next year’s World Group. The World Group playoff losers — Colombia, Israel, Netherlands, Slovakia, Spain, Ukraine and Uzbekistan — are headed for zone group competitions.
The World Group playoff between Serbia and India was to be decided yesterday after the fifth and decisive singles match was suspended because of rain on Sunday.
Filip Krajinovic was leading 6-3, 4-4 against India’s 22-year-old Yuki Bhambri when play was stopped.
Brazil took an unassailable 3-1 lead over Spain when Thomaz Bellucci defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday, dropping the five-time champions to the zone groups for the first time since 1996.
“This is one of the greatest moments of my career,” the 83rd-ranked Bellucci said. “It’s a great moment for Brazilian tennis and it comes at the right time. We showed our value today.”
The US swept Slovakia 5-0 to extend a streak in the top tier that began in 1989, while Australia swept Uzbekistan 5-0 in Perth.
Carlos Berlocq and Leonardo Mayer won singles matches to help Argentina rally past Israel 3-2.
The Canada, Colombia; Croatia, Netherlands; and Belgium, Ukraine series all finished 3-2.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB