I like how the picture on the front page looks like Federer is playing alone against Fish and Bryan.

There's heardly anything on the photo wire from this match, strangely.

I saw the match and neither of the swiss players looked sharp at all...after the first set totally dominated...much like the Federer-Isner match

Fed and wawrinka need to learn to convert break points if they're going to win olympics again.

And Fed has to watch and learn from the Djoker on how to return serve :))

I have faith in you Roger...always will...let's bring home more trophies

Wow... If ever there was a let down...

This has to go down as one the most unexpected results in Davis Cup... for me at least...

Or maybe Fedinka were holding back their cards for the Olympic Doubles??

There is nothing they need to learn technically.

Do you think that betting websites, and experts would give Fish & Isner a chance in singles on a clay court Masters Series against the swiss?

Time and time proves that the Swiss is a country of cold-blooded people who only care about money and easiness of life. They don't like to work hard, nor understand national pride.

Federer stated everything by saying, BEFORE THE SERIES EVEN STARTED, that "Davis Cup doesn't matter":

http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/news.aspx?articleid=16327&zoneid=25

What kind of attitude is that?, do you think countries like Argentina, Australia, France, USA, Spain would understand and not comply against such mean comments?

The Swiss lost cause attitude issues, do not be surprise that, once the clay season arrives, the matchups would go back to normal.

Congrats to Fish and Isner, they have the guts to defend their flag, even in such mediocre times for US tennis.

how embarrassing losing to mardy fish and and isner and a make shift doubles team.federer is such a quitter and has no national spirit whatsoever.more fool him as this and the olympic gold singles are the 2 major gaps in his career,with nole and rafa focusing on london fed doesnt have a hope of winning there,but the davis cup with wawrinka should be better than that,against a 1 dimensional team,i hope the usa get france as they will not be scared to play on any surface and i think they will put them back in their place as diminishing tennis giant with a few above average players who have a great team spirit and not much else

roll on indian wells and miami,please hurry

You're bitter aren't you.

It occurrs to me that clay isn't even the best service for Federer and Wawrinka so for the Swiss to choose clay seems like a bad tactical move.

Federer is all about HIS career titles. He's shooting for that olympic singles & possibly mixed doubles titles not for the love of his country but love for himself. Congrads to the USA team. Great team spirit & guts.

@Fernando III:

I don't think those comments by Federer really mean that he doesn't care about Davis Cup. I think this year he really cared and wanted to have a shot to lift that Cup at the end of the year. But my impression is that he was feeling really overconfident, he was so sure Switzerland was going to win (like 99.9% of the tennis fans and pundits, may I add), that he made that cocky comment. He always makes comments like that before matches. It's his style, and it has worked very well over the years.

But this time it backfired. By the time Wawrinka had lost to Fish and he realised that John was no pushover, it was too late.

Today's doubles win for the US was due to some fabulous and clutch play by Mardy and Mike, plus the pressure that Roger&Stan were feeling after the upset yesterday, so they couldn't bring their best game to the table.

It's a shame, because with Nole&Rafa not playing Davis Cup this year, Switzerland had a shot this year with two very good players. But in tennis you underestimate your rivals at your own peril.

I've noticed that some time ago, and it probably sounds like cliche already, but Federer shows 100% motivation only during majors. All of the rest he treats as additional practice. But who can blame him considering everything he's achieved? Protecting his legacy in majors count is probably the only force that drives him despite of what he says about it. And now when he sees that Nadal is not so close after all because of Djoko, he still wants to add to his total but it's not that urgent anymore.

"But my impression is that he was feeling really overconfident, he was so sure Switzerland was going to win (like 99.9% of the tennis fans and pundits, may I add), that he made that cocky comment. He always makes comments like that before matches. It's his style, and it has worked very well over the years."

Absolutely NOT Yolita: prior to his match againts Isner, Federer said clearly in various interview that Isner was a real danger, even on clay. He took the match seriously and didn't make cocky comments.
If the constent bashing of Federer could stop for a while...

I am not sure but Federer off late has developed this habit of losing the match after winning the first set or first two sets. This isn't davis cup we are talking about but also if you look at the crucial matches last year, Tsonga, Djokovic, Nadal, Isner and now Doubles today....he seems to start the match with supreme confidence and then the match slips away from his hand...I think more than anything else, he needs to dig deep and ask himself why is he performing so bad after such a good start..is it that he becomes a bit overconfident or is it that he is running low on mental strength?

Federer- Low on Mental Toughness? http://bit.ly/w1rvpN

"I like how the picture on the front page looks like Federer is playing alone against Fish and Bryan." (me)

It's been changed. Nevermind. :(

I think Fed's chance of winning the Olympics single is about as good as mine.
Novak and Rafa will be in their grand slam form on steriod come summer Olympics. Novak's sense of national pride dwarfs Fed's greed for personal gain.

im starting t wonder is this the begin of the bad slide for fed sure he 3 in the world he is still a better player than what he showed during the tie, and yes he did make semis. should so i chalk this one up as the second of the few matches a top player like fed will suffer over the season or is this an ominous sign for the season

winning the gold is actually going to be easier for fed than winning Wimbledon only the Gold medal match is five sets

Too many unlucky shots...probably...What about 3750 articles "could have...would have" explaning that Roger could have won...

Fred:

I'm sorry you feel that way, but I'm basing my comments on the interview posted here on The Ticker, on Thursday February 9th:

http://www.tennis.com/articles/templates/ticker.aspx?articleid=16327&zoneid=6#comments

Federer was quoted as saying the following:

"It’s just another tie for me," he told DavisCup.com. "It doesn’t matter when and where it is, it’s all a matter of priorities. My team is a group of great friends, that’s what I enjoy about it, that I can spend some time with them, and hopefully try to win, but if we don’t, it doesn’t matter. It’s about trying your best and having a good time."

Those comments sound overconfident to me. How do you interpret them? Surely he doesn't mean them. Would you like to have an Olympic athlete saying, before the games, that the important thing for him is seeing his friends and having a good time? Would that show respect for the games? Of course not. And I don't think Federer meant them. Of course he wanted to win. Do you honestly believe it didn't matter to him whether they won or not? He's a top competitor. Of course it matterd. Those comments were mind-games.

And just for the record, I don't have anything against mind-games. Intelligence was developed by the human race in order to get the better of other humans, not in order to beat other species. If Roger manages to get into other players' heads by his comments, good for him. The others shouldn't let him get in their heads. It's all part of the game.

But this time it backfired. That's all I'm saying.

I'm just expressing my opinion of what I think went wrong. I'm not "bashing" Federer, I'm just criticising him. Surely one is allowed to? Nobody should be off-limits. Not even Roger.

roger still looks better and the americans fall short on the pro tour they all need go back to the challengers matches.

Bitterness alert

We've never had a real chance to see the whole picture of Roger Federer. I think newt couple of years is going to be real test for his "persona".

Is he going to be able to praise opponents, to be gracious in defeat, to hide bitterness, to address correctly someone success without talking about luck, to accept with respect some new kids on the block.

Good luck with all above RF, you'll need it as we all how hard it is to beat old Rodger Federer.

Fernando says that in hie pre and post match statements, Maestro has demonstrated a total lack of respect for the Davis Cup competition, his teammates and the fan. Maestro is about maestro. No one respects him anymore.

Fernando

It was great that he helped get SUI back into the World Group, kinda pathetic that it was all for naught and now they've been promptly relegated.

I keep wondering how Switzerland could have done any worse without him this weekend. Federer sure played like a guy who didn't care too much - maybe the team will decide they don't care about him.

Sad that I think Tina and others are correct that Roger didn't seem to care too much about DC. I watched every minute, and the magic and passion were definitely not there. I miss the real Federer.

Go Canada!

I love being with Stan AND SO FORTH...

blahahahaha!

This is great!

Finally a tennis game for people allergic to adrenaline -
Roger Federer playing for his country in a dead rubber.

luving it! can't wait when we no longer have to see those mugs of Faderer or Nadull

I cannot help but wonder: Switzerland constantly pressures their #1 player to participate in Davis Cup. 2012 will be a busier year than usual with Federer trying to win Olympics and/or Grand Slams. Surely there's a nice way to placate the people who insist "play Davis Cup" and also preserve one's own chances at the big tournaments. Losing quickly in the opening round accomplishes several meaningful goals.

I just cannot stop wondering if that's what happened.

CajunGuy - it also might mean he'll have to try to "rescue" them in September to save them from relegation to the "Europe/Africa" Group. He got a lot of credit for going to Australia last September to compete in the playoffs and bring Switzerland back into the World Group - and now they must compete in play-offs again.

Switzerland's #1 player was useless this weekend. Davis Cup clearly isn't his "thing". I feel bad for Wawrinka, who really does care. I thought he was going to burst into tears after the match..

"Roger Federer playing for his country in a dead rubber."
---------------

I'll have far more respect for him if he plays a dead rubber, but that seems beneath him.

that seems beneath him...

~

Isn't it? That's always how I feel when he plays...that he deigns to show his presence and everyone should both love and fear him.

In the wake of his comments on Thursday about the team being a great group of friends and that Davis Cup is about "having a good time" - I'd love to know what those teammates really think.

"Nobody should be off-limits. Not even Roger." Yolita, why the kow-towing? Of course he's not off-limits.

tina (Nole No.5 smells sweet):

Of course he's not off-limits. But some people seem to think he is. That phrase was tongue-in-cheek. :))

tina (Nole No.5 smells sweet):

Of course he's not off-limits. But some people seem to think he is. That phrase was tongue-in-cheek. :))

Ok, nisam razumio.

Who needs The Maesto if he doesn't care about Davis Cup? Switzerland got to the finals in 1992 with Jakob Hlasek (highest ranking #7) and Marc Rosset (highest ranking #9)!

I think it is safe to say that the Swiss folks are pretty happy with the mere 16 slams and gold in doubles that Roger has provided and they are not weeping over the lack of a Davis Cup.

I guess folks have to mask their total lack of respect for the great man behind their trite rants about Davis Cup.

“The clay-allergic Americans…” – this is at the core of misconception! It is entirely one thing when everyone is in the mood and adjusted to some surface. It is entirely different when no one is adjusted to some surface. Entirely!
Serbian team exactly 2 years ago made same mistake, hosting USA on clay, and nearly lost. Tired Novak barely won 3:2 over then also excellent Isner to produce 3:2 for Serbia. Same round, same situation – no one played on clay and everyone is out of rhythm. Worse, it is everyone coming from summer-down-under to ugly winter. In those circumstances play is going to be bad. And if there will be no fluency serve, key USA weapon, will dominate even on clay. Simple as that. Bad games, taller gays wins. Swiss didn’t learn! Only for Spain this would be OK hosting against USA, everyone else should just repeat AO surface! I just can’t belief how many major misses are so crucial in Davis Cup, year after year.
True, Swiss players are now fathers, Stan nearly won, Roger had bad day and Isner terrific one. It happens, and as always many things are involved. But “mystique” about US players doing miserly on clay applies only in prolonged run. When it gets to Rolland Garros for sure. But before clay season everyone is bad on clay. So choice of normal clay is plain stupid. Spain can make this dust-over-clay psychedelic surface. There can also be that meek clay that can dump and slow down any serve. Latter in play low bounce would destroy US players. Only those nasty clays – but regular, even in Davis Cup spirit of host-can-do-nasty, would make sense. Excelent display of US players anyway. Thumbs up for Mardy and John, great relief and bonus for Courier. But key was stupid, stupid Swiss choice.

Way to go Team USA!! Good luck verses France in April. Will they also choose clay? At least it will be the start of clay season and not in the middle of hard season.

I don't have to mask anything. This is about Davis Cup, not any individual player's records or trophies. Federer doesn't give a hoot about Davis Cup and should simply step back and quit the charade. The guy wouldn't even "lower himself" to play a dead rubber. Dead rubbers can save a team from a 5-0 drubbing.

Roddick fan - FRA/CAN is still live and it could still be Canada in April.

Tina- I know Canada can still win, but that has as much chance of happening as the USA winning in Switzerland on clay 5-0. I am rooting for Milos & Poppi to win at home. I will then root for the USA at Canada winner for the title.

A few thoughts!! I often read posts on this site and must confess it seems to be a bit of a closed shop. Same posters a lot of the time who respond to each others' posts but not others whether negative or positive.
I am Canadian and have two comments to make as I was able to watch much of the US/Swiss and Can/France matches.

Firstly congrats to the US team especially Isner. Like Canada's up and comer he has often been dissed as a one or two trick pony. In my opinion he is a great sportsman who gives his all and is never disrespectful. Kudos.
I have always viewed the Bryan bros in the same way until Mike after clinching the tie was asked about facing France or Can. Fish asked the interviewer what the status was and was told 1-1 overnignt. Mike said go Canada and Fish snickered and Mike said well they are closer to us if we have to travel. I am sure many Canucks felt slighted by Mike's comment and even more so by Fish's snicker. Many comments from Canada felt Bryan was being sarcatic. I used to admire Fish as a true sportsman but after his despicible behavior in Perth and now this I have no use for him. He is just another ugly American.

But hats off to Gael Monfils for playing the fifth dead rubber against Pospisil. He has knee issues and still went out and entertained the crowd. Something I am an sure not many other top players would do. Yes I know he is playing in San Jose next week and may have felt the match would do him some good but many would not have played. He may be a flakey tennis player but he at least is an admirable human being something I can no longer say about the Fishhead. I used to call him that out of admiration but now there is nothing but comtempt. I would welcome comments from this closed shop if any of you are still following this thread.
Cheers.

Yolita, I interpreted those comments in completely the opposite way from you. I thought that he was saying "it didn't matter" if they lost because he was trying to prepare the public for the possibility of a loss. I don't think he felt very confident at all once he got to Fribourg and saw how the court was playing. Because of the altitude the ball was really flying and worked well for good servers.

Other posters at the time posited that he was trying to take pressure off Stan. But until you no one other than you thought they were in any way a sign of confidence; more the opposite.

(BTW, you may not realize this but Fed's DC teammates really are some of his closest friends. Not so much Stan who is younger but the other two members Lammer and Chiudinelli - Lammer and he used to share an apartment back in the day, and he and Marco grew up in the same neighborhood and were inseperable "best buds" for years as children.)

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