By Chris Oddo | Saturday, February 1, 2014

 

Backed by Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka, Switzerland is into the Davis Cup World Group quarterfinals for the first time since 2004.

Photo Source: Getty

The Swiss Davis Cup team has reached the Davis Cup World Group quarterfinals for the first time since 2004 after completing its sweep of Serbia on Saturday in Novi Sad, Serbia.

With Novak Djokovic on a well deserved ski holiday, the Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka-led Swiss took a 2-0 lead on Friday.

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But on Saturday, it was time for a pair of unsung heroes to rise to the occasion for team Switzerland.

Marco Chiudinelli and Michael Lammer won a hard-fought 7-6(3), 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 victory over Nenad Zimonjic and Filip Krajinovic in the doubles rubber on Saturday, turning Sunday's reverse singles competition into a mere formality.

The Swiss team, which has never won the Davis Cup, will face either Kazakhstan or Belgium in the quarterfinals to be held on April 4-6. Kazakhstan currently leads Belgium 2-1 in Astana, prior to Sunday's reverse singles action.

If Federer and Wawrinka stay committed to the event, the Swiss have a good chance to reach their first Davis Cup final since 1992. With the powerhouse Czechs and the dangerous, deep French sides on the top half of this year's official Davis Cup draw, the Swiss would have a distinct advantage against anybody they face in the lower half.

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Elsewhere in Davis Cup action on Saturday, five-time champion Spain, which was without the services of its top three players in Frankfurt this weekend, was swept by the Germans, while France, led by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Richard Gasquet, swept Australia.

France will host Germany in April's quarterfinals.

Japan took a 2-1 lead over Canada on Saturday, and will bid to reach the World Group quarterfinals for the first time on Sunday. In Ostrava, the Czechs, who are bidding for their tenth consecutive Davis Cup rubber, squeaked past the Dutch in today's doubles action, behind Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek.

Berdych and Stepanek, the core of the Czech squad, improved their record in doubles to 15-1 with the four-set victory over Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer.