2014 Davis Cup Final: France-Switzerland

by noleisthebest Wed Nov 19, 2014 10:50 am

Date: 21 Nov - 23 Nov 2014
Venue: Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille, France
Start times:
Day 1: 1400 hrs (1300 hrs GMT)
Day 2: 1530 hrs (1430 hrs GMT)
Day 3: 1300 hrs (1200 hrs GMT)
Surface: Clay (Red Clay), Indoor

Ball: Babolat French Open

2014 Davis Cup Final: France-Switzerland France-with-Swiss-flag

FRANCE
Tsonga, Monfils, Gasquet, Benneteau

SWITZERLAND Federer, Wawrinka, Chiudinelli, Lammar

2014 Davis Cup Final: France-Switzerland 72846-14_Fans__2_312

2014 Davis Cup Final: France-Switzerland 72846-14_Fans__2_312

by N2D2L Wed Nov 19, 2014 10:54 am

This could be epic.

Let's hope Federer is fit to play

by noleisthebest Wed Nov 19, 2014 10:55 am

I hope so, although I strongly doubt it.
He may be able to play one match properly, and that's it.
Stan will have top pull the weight this time.

Oh Mirka...

by noleisthebest Wed Nov 19, 2014 11:00 am

I think it will be easier for Stan to play in France than in Switzerland, in fact. He is very good on clay.
France have a great opportunity.

I love

France and French tennis and they deserve this Cup.
I hope the crowd lifts them to victory.

ALLEEEEEZ!!!! diva

by noleisthebest Wed Nov 19, 2014 11:04 am

Here's a question:

what would have Fed preferred:

to have won WTF or DC this year?

by noleisthebest Wed Nov 19, 2014 11:20 am

Blast from the 2010 past Winking

2014 Davis Cup Final: France-Switzerland _50304810_team282

by N2D2L Wed Nov 19, 2014 12:20 pm

noleisthebest wrote:Here's a question:

what would have Fed preferred:

to have won WTF or DC this year?

On the basis of the evidence I've seen so far, DC

by noleisthebest Wed Nov 19, 2014 4:06 pm

by truffin1 Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:05 pm

Djokovic and Fed both said WTF final is next in importance to the Majors... and Fed has always said through the years- he considers WTF as big a goal as a Major when he sets his season goals. So I think WTF is still held as a bigger individual accomplishment in his mind.

DC- I think appeals to his national pride, his desire to bring some glory to nation and close friends, and also is the rarest of rare for him.. a missing piece of the resume. Winning a team event in which he can't win or lose it himself certainly doesn't reflect on his greatness of a tennis player, but I think as he's gotten closer to it-- he wants it pretty bad. My guess is he gives it a go 1st match-- Swiss hope he pulls it out and then Stan can win his two singles.........

another move if allowed. Let Stan and another play singles 1st day.... and save Fed for sunday decider.. Gives him more time to heal up, get some practice in.. If Stan could win both his singles and it goes 2-2 with Fed in the decider... I would think Swiss would be pretty confident that Federer would best deal with that pressure compared to the French.

by N2D2L Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:41 pm

truffin1 wrote:another move if allowed. Let Stan and another play singles 1st day.... and save Fed for sunday decider.. Gives him more time to heal up, get some practice in..

Yes, this is allowed.

by Tenez Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:46 pm

Switzerland is doomed. Federer will never be fully fit for the final...and doubt Stan will win both his rubbers.

by N2D2L Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:49 pm

Tenez wrote:Switzerland is doomed. Federer will never be fully fit for the final...and doubt Stan will win both his rubbers.

The doubles tie could be key I reckon.
Stan surely heads into both matches as favourite ?

by N2D2L Wed Nov 19, 2014 6:49 pm

It could be an absolutely epic weekend, I hope it goes into a deciding rubber.

by Tenez Wed Nov 19, 2014 7:20 pm

Kim Jong-Un wrote:
Tenez wrote:Switzerland is doomed. Federer will never be fully fit for the final...and doubt Stan will win both his rubbers.
The doubles tie could be key I reckon.
Stan surely heads into both matches as favourite ?

Surely not. He has not done much since his AO. Should he lose early at the Ao he goes out of the top 10.

by Polly 81 Wed Nov 19, 2014 8:38 pm

Update re Federer. He had a short practice session today, apparently no pain at the moment.

by Tenez Wed Nov 19, 2014 9:31 pm

I just read on the french yahoo site that he had no training session at all.....maybe my news was one day old....

by Polly 81 Wed Nov 19, 2014 11:17 pm

Yeah probably old news. He practiced for about 30 mins, nothing too strenuous apparently. He was wrapped up, thermal vest etc.

Just found this. Maybe the eagle eyed among us can see if his movement looks normal or not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s50sSUJtRMY

by Tenez Thu Nov 20, 2014 12:09 am

Good find Polly! ...but sadly he looks really stiff. he was even scared to serve. No need of an eagle eye unfortunately.

by N2D2L Thu Nov 20, 2014 12:14 am

He looked really cautious there.

by noleisthebest Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:25 am

That's bad.
He shouldn't play at all.

by Polly 81 Thu Nov 20, 2014 10:48 am

Yes you're right, he did look cautious/stiff. However, I've seen him practice on many occasions in the past and I can't say that he really goes for it then either.

He was back on the court practicing this morning. Draw comes out at 11:30 GMT.

by noleisthebest Thu Nov 20, 2014 10:55 am

I saw him practice for Stan match, he looked very different.

What stands out in this clip is his posture.
In Serbia we say: "he looks like he's swallowed a broomstick".
Absolutely no movement and suppleness in the entire length of his spine.
You can see his ball-striking and timing are lovely (which is probably why he turned up to practise in the first place, just to keep it going) , but the state of the back is at least two weeks behind competing level.

by noleisthebest Thu Nov 20, 2014 11:01 am

truffin1 wrote:Djokovic and Fed both said WTF final is next in importance to the Majors... and Fed has always said through the years- he considers WTF as big a goal as a Major when he sets his season goals. So I think WTF is still held as a bigger individual accomplishment in his mind.

DC- I think appeals to his national pride, his desire to bring some glory to nation and close friends, and also is the rarest of rare for him.. a missing piece of the resume. Winning a team event in which he can't win or lose it himself certainly doesn't reflect on his greatness of a tennis player, but I think as he's gotten closer to it-- he wants it pretty bad. My guess is he gives it a go 1st match-- Swiss hope he pulls it out and then Stan can win his two singles.........

another move if allowed. Let Stan and another play singles 1st day.... and save Fed for sunday decider.. Gives him more time to heal up, get some practice in.. If Stan could win both his singles and it goes 2-2 with Fed in the decider... I would think Swiss would be pretty confident that Federer would best deal with that pressure compared to the French.

I think Fed would have preferred a win over Nole and the WTF.
Of course he'd like to have DC, but I never had a feeling it was a huge deal for him, if it was, he'd've won it by now.
Stan certainly wants it more than him.
Switzerland is a unique country when it comes to nationalism/patriotism as it's complicated and layered in a hierarchical way, and I'd say it doesn't feature much.
It's very different from France in that way.
Fed will play with his mind and the French players with their heart.

by Polly 81 Thu Nov 20, 2014 11:09 am

noleisthebest wrote:I saw him practice for Stan match, he looked very different.

What stands out in this clip is his posture.
In Serbia we say: "he looks like he's swallowed a broomstick".
Absolutely no movement and suppleness in the entire length of his spine.
You can see his ball-striking and timing are lovely (which is probably why he turned up to practise in the first place, just to keep it going) , but the state of the back is at least two weeks behind competing level.

Thanks for that saying! I see what you mean.
Well we'll know in a few minutes what they've decided to do.

by Polly 81 Thu Nov 20, 2014 11:52 am

Well, he's playing.

Friday:
Tsonga v Wawrinka
Monfils v Federer

Saturday:
Benneteau/Gasquet v Chiudinelli/Lammer

Sunday:
Tsonga v Federer
Monfils v Wawrinka

by noleisthebest Thu Nov 20, 2014 2:51 pm

Poor Fed...Monfils is the last player he needed to see across the net on clay right now.

I hope he knows what he's doing.
Nole didn't listen to his body in 2011 post USO (where he got injured against Nadal) and got his muscle torn against Delpo in DC, which then sidelined him for the next weeks.

by Tenez Thu Nov 20, 2014 3:24 pm

noleisthebest wrote:Poor Fed...Monfils is the last player he needed to see across the net on clay right now.

Yes....and that's why they picked Monfils. Monfils is going to tire him.....even if he does not win.

by noleisthebest Thu Nov 20, 2014 4:02 pm

Tenez wrote:
noleisthebest wrote:Poor Fed...Monfils is the last player he needed to see across the net on clay right now.

Yes....and that's why they picked Monfils. Monfils is going to tire him.....even if he does not win.

Yes, that was the logical choice even before the injury, now it's a done deal.
For some reason I thought countries' number ones play each other on the first day, i.e. Fed vs Tsonga.

Tsonga-Stan should be very good, though.
I still can't believe Fed chose to play.

by truffin1 Thu Nov 20, 2014 5:23 pm

Fed looks horrible in that practice clip. I see all the signs of a hurting back I've experienced years of. You can see the tension in his body and especially his face.

Anyone remember how bad he looked on the clay at Hamburg and Gstaad with the back injury? smh.

by summerblues Fri Nov 21, 2014 1:31 am

Going on a vacation so please enjoy whatever is left of the season on my behalf too.

by noleisthebest Fri Nov 21, 2014 8:11 am

You are not going to France again, are you? envy

by noleisthebest Fri Nov 21, 2014 12:37 pm

So close and yet so far...

2014 Davis Cup Final: France-Switzerland 546e3839a5a6d

Stands are filling fast, the atmosphere promises to be very hot, 27 000 tennis fans in one place...ooo-la-laaaa diva

by noleisthebest Fri Nov 21, 2014 2:04 pm

French crowd will be the end of Stan.
Clay looks a bit strange after O2.

by N2D2L Fri Nov 21, 2014 3:17 pm

Is it just me who finds clay court tennis so much more enjoyable ?

This is great stuff, Stan closing in on the first win for SWI.

by raiders_of_the_lost_ark Fri Nov 21, 2014 3:43 pm

Stan wins the first rubber.. diva

by noleisthebest Fri Nov 21, 2014 3:53 pm

Kim Jong-Un wrote:Is it just me who finds clay court tennis so much more enjoyable ?
This is great stuff, Stan closing in on the first win for SWI.

It depends who's playing. It has to be all-court to be good.
Clay has been my favourite surface so far (haven't tried the grass yet).
It is wonderfully creative, gorgeous to play on.

by noleisthebest Fri Nov 21, 2014 3:56 pm

I only saw a few games in the second set.

Fastening my seatbelt now.

ALLEZ LA FRANCE !!!!! diva

by N2D2L Fri Nov 21, 2014 3:58 pm

[quote="noleisthebest"
Clay has been my favourite surface so far (haven't tried the grass yet).
It is wonderfully creative, gorgeous to play on.
[/quote]
I love watching tennis on clay.
In terms of playing I like carpet indoors, I like knowing how the ball will bounce consistently.

by noleisthebest Fri Nov 21, 2014 4:21 pm

Stupid commentator: "How long can Monfils keep this level up?" Doh

by noleisthebest Fri Nov 21, 2014 4:22 pm

Mind you Fed striking his FH beautifully so far, better than against Stan in O2.
Serve is letting him down, obviously.

by noleisthebest Fri Nov 21, 2014 4:32 pm

Luthi should have rested Fed for Sunday after Stan's win today and play Chiudinelli instead.

by noleisthebest Fri Nov 21, 2014 4:35 pm

Monf is loving every moment...way to play a high pressured match! Bubbly

by noleisthebest Fri Nov 21, 2014 4:35 pm

T, are you watching?

by sphairistike Fri Nov 21, 2014 4:36 pm

noleisthebest wrote:Luthi should have rested Fed for Sunday after Stan's win today and play Chiudinelli instead.

Totally agree, unless it was too late to do so. Maybe he also still thinks an injured Fed can still beat Monfils (who can beat himself) and having a 2-0 lead is worth the risk...

by truffin1 Fri Nov 21, 2014 4:41 pm

This is sad for fed. His mind is as locked up as the back because he is afraid to go all out. Same as last year.

Movement is clearly compromised.

by Tenez Fri Nov 21, 2014 4:52 pm

noleisthebest wrote:Luthi should have rested Fed for Sunday after Stan's win today and play Chiudinelli instead.

on the other hand a 2/0 down would put France is a very stressful position the rest of the weekend.

by noleisthebest Fri Nov 21, 2014 4:55 pm

Tenez wrote:
noleisthebest wrote:Luthi should have rested Fed for Sunday after Stan's win today and play Chiudinelli instead.
on the other hand a 2/0 down would put France is a very stressful position the rest of the weekend.

noleisthebest wrote: Luthi should have rested Fed for Sunday after Stan's win today and play Chiudinelli instead.

by noleisthebest Fri Nov 21, 2014 5:03 pm

Wilander saying there are no signs of Federer's back trouble and that he is playing well.
He also didn't fail to mention Fed is 33. 2014 Davis Cup Final: France-Switzerland 2355573927

2014 Davis Cup Final: France-Switzerland 2355573927

by Tenez Fri Nov 21, 2014 5:22 pm

I was hoping Fed would loosen up as the match goes on but he is still struggling.

by noleisthebest Fri Nov 21, 2014 5:29 pm

It's hard to loosen up on spasmatic back, he probably feels part of it anaesthetised and blocked, impossible to move into it.
Different from the classic stiff back.
He's doing well under the circumstances.

I still can't believe he's decided to play.

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