Clement and Federer Tee Up a Dramatic Weekend
Two straight sets wins for Switerland's and France's top players have set
up an exciting weekend of tennis in Lausanne, and once again emphasised how
much the home nation rely on Roger Federer.
Federer's 62 64 64 victory over Nicolas Escude put the Swiss in front, but
any suggestion that his victory might put wind in the sails of Switzerland's
second player Ivo Heuberger was wiped out after 18 minutes of the second
singles, when Arnaud Clement broke Heuberger and went on to dominate the
match.
Clement's 63 63 62 win will earn him fewer plaudits than he deserves, given
that at 25th he is 109 ranking places above Heuberger, but it was a
near-perfect display to wipe out Switzerland's advantage. And the way he
left Heuberger with fading confidence in the third set suggests that
Switzerland's chances really do rest with Federer winning all his three
rubbers, as the French must fancy their chances if the fifth is live.
This was really Roger Federer's day. Playing his first match on Swiss soil
since becoming world No 1 in Australia 10 weeks ago, he was given a standing
ovation when he walked out onto the court for his match against Escude.
"I wasn't sure what to expect," said Federer. "It was very nice, very loud,
a little bit of a surprise, but the people were keen to see me in Switzerland
as the No 1 player, and it was a hell of an atmosphere. It almost distracted
me a little from my tennis, I almost got goosebumps, it was quite emotional
at the beginning. I was very touched."
In that eulogistic atmosphere, an emotional man like Federer might have been
vulnerable to a good start by his opponent. Yet despite Escude holding his
opening service game to love, Federer played a set and a half of superb
tennis. He didn't lose a single point on serve in the first set, and though
his level dropped from the middle of the second set as Escude got more into
the match, Federer conceded just 22 points in 14 service games, five of them
double faults.
From the moment Clement played a precision backhand lob on the run to break
Heuberger for 3-2, the outcome of the second singles was clear. Clement is
in many ways a model Davis Cup player, and handled the pressure of needing
to win with great calmness. "I think it was a perfect match," he said. "I
had a good start, a very good finish, my net game was good, my baseline game
was good, everything worked well."
Some of Clement's cunning suggested his clash with Federer on Sunday - which
will be live thanks to the 1-1 day one score - could be wonderful to watch.
He moved superbly, and made some winning passes off shots Heuberger clearly
thought had won him the point.
The match was memorable for the unusual sight of Switzerland's captain Marc
Rosset calling for the stadium microphone to appeal for calm among the
passionate mostly-Swiss crowd. After a line call which Heuberger felt had
gone unfairly against him, Rosset got up and began arguing with umpire Javier
Moreno. Hoping to disrupt Clement's rhythm, the crowd got involved too, but
didn't know when to stop. Rosset, the man whose temper once caused him to
retire from a Davis Cup match because he had damaged his wrist punching an
advertising board in anger, picked up the microphone and said: "The umpires
have made their decision, please now respect it."
Neither captain is expected to make any changes for the next two rubbers.
Federer and Yves Allegro are due to face Escude and Michael Llodra in the
doubles, with Federer squaring off against Clement in the first of Sunday's
singles. If after that it is 2-2, Rosset will have to decide whether to go
with Heuberger or the out-of-form Michel Kratochvil, either of whom would
start as clear underdog against Escude.
http://www.daviscup.com/news/matchreport.asp?id=12868
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