Roger Federer loses but Switzerland level with France in record Davis Cup final

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Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka each faced questions heading into Switzerland’s Davis Cup final in France.

For Federer, how would his tender back hold up?

For Wawrinka, would he recover after a tough – and contentious – loss to his higher-profile Swiss at the World Tour Finals in London last week?

We got our answers Friday at the Stade Pierre Mauroy on a record setting day in Lille – but for once Federer wasn’t the one rewriting the history books.

In front of the largest ever tennis crowd for a pro match – at 27,432 it eclipsed the 27,200 that turned up to watch Spain beat the U.S. in a converted Seville bullring in the 2004 Davis Cup final – Federer not only fell to Gael Monfils but couldn’t put up much of a fight.

The 6-1 6-4 6-3 result against Monfils – who piped down his histrionics – marked his most lopsided defeat in 45 singles matches in the competition.

“You accept the fact that you’re playing the way you feel,” Federer told reporters. “But it wasn’t all negative. I started to feel better as the match went on. That’s very encouraging, I must say.”

Also encouraging for Federer and the Swiss, Wawrinka thumped a listless Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-2 to begin the day.

Federer’s performance, coupled with France’s apparent advantage in Saturday’s doubles, means it’s the home team who’ll be happier come the end of play.

One of the two major titles to elude Federer in his glittering career is a Davis Cup crown and how disappointed he must have been that on his debut in a Davis Cup final he was at less than full strength.

Monfils, however, remains one of the most athletic players in the game and owned a pair of wins over Federer.

With French captain Arnaud Clement able to rein him in during changeovers, he played focused tennis.

“Definitely one of the top three matches in my life,” said Monfils, who squandered two match points against Federer at the U.S. Open.

Monfils broke early in the first and facing an immediate break point, struck a courageous second-serve ace that delighted his many fans.

Clay can be classified as the least forgiving of surfaces when it comes to unforced errors, which made Monfils’ tally of 44 winners and 18 unforced errors extremely impressive.

In truth at times he was quick to pounce on short Federer balls.

He earned the key break at 2-2 in the third in breath-taking fashion, slamming a forehand down the line and later in the game sliding into his backhand prior to sending it past Federer and down the line.

And what a way to end it: Monfils produced another shot down the line, a backhand from a difficult angle.

Wawrinka, meanwhile, sparkled against French No. 1 Tsonga, displaying some of the artillery that won him the Australian Open in January for a maiden grand slam title.

His stats were even better than Monfils’ – 61 winners and 29 unforced errors.

“I know how to play those matches,” Wawrinka said. “I did so many big matches, so many important matches this year.

“Today it’s important to show them that I’m there. They (were) maybe too focused (on) Roger and maybe they forgot about me.”

He showed no after effects of the loss to Federer, when he blew four match points and was reportedly taunted by Federer’s wife, Mirka.

For large parts of the affair he targeted Tsonga’s backhand with his own sublime one-handed backhand, easily getting the better of the 2008 Australian Open finalist.

At one stage, even the crowd – most of course were rooting for Les Bleus – admired Wawrinka’s laser-like backhand in reply to a slack Tsonga forehand volley.

Wawrinka stormed to the first set and when he held a break point to begin the second, it appeared as if the Swiss No. 2’s better form would see him cruise in three.

But Tsonga hung on, altered the momentum and for a brief spell in the third set was in the ascendancy.

The loudest the crowd got in the opener was in that third set, when an agitated Tsonga implored them off their feet when he saved a set point with an ace at 2-5. The outstretched arms of Clement at precisely the same time suggested an expression of, ‘It’s about time,’ and the Swiss cow bells were temporarily silenced.

There’s no doubt that Wawrinka was slightly rattled.

Tsonga smelled blood when Wawrinka trailed 0-30 on serve, but the latter rallied to close out the set – and the match, realistically – despite double faulting on one of his set points.

Tsonga was annoyed with his performance but also with the French fans, who he felt weren’t vocal enough.

“When the teams were introduced, they applauded Stan more than us, Roger more than us,” he said. “We hear the Swiss spectators more than we hear the French ones.

“Stan, for example, announced that the ball was out, and it was in.

“I just went to check the mark, and I was booed in my own country – maybe not by the French spectators but by the Swiss spectators. It’s annoying.”

With Monfils’ victory over Federer, it guaranteed so-called ‘live’ action Sunday and Clement would surprise a few if he stuck with the out-of-sorts Tsonga to begin the reverse singles.

For the time being, Federer isn’t ruling himself out of Saturday’s doubles.

“Now I’m coming out of the match without any pain, which is good, too,” said Federer. “It was not a five-setter (that left) me totally exhausted. So if I have to find something positive about it, I’ll say that.

“But it is clear that I want to play better. If I play the doubles and the singles, it needs to be a lot better than today. Now I have the information and I know exactly what I have to do.”

Wawrinka and Federer both aren’t scheduled to play doubles but they can be called upon Saturday.