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Swiss Officials Want Answers from Roger Federer
© Melchior A. DiGiacomo
The Swiss web site swissinfo.ch has reported that the country’s tennis association has publicly asked Roger Federer for an explanation for his late withdrawal from the team’s Davis Cup battle against Kazakhstan last weekend.
Switzlerand was routed 5-0, dropping out of the World Group back to the zonal group Europe/Africa. The Swiss have never won the Cup, and have made only one final, that in 1992.
“We need to have an answer [from Federer] – is he going to be part of the team or not?” René Stammbach, president of Swiss Tennis since 2006, told swissinfo.ch. “Any answer will be respected and accepted – but we want answers.”
Kazakhstan will take on the third-seeded Czech Republic in the 2011 Davis Cup Draw. Switzerland will have a bye in the first round of next year’s Europe/Africa Zone.
Federer, the all-time Grand Slam men’s leader and the No. 3 player in the world, pulled out of the Cup a week after falling to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the US Open.
Stammbach has ordered team captain Severin Lüthi to talk to Federer and find out where he stands.
“At the end of the day it’s always going to be his decision – we don’t have a contract with him. We’re just depending on his good will. If he wants to defend the colours of the country, that’s up to him,” he said.
At full strength, Switzerland would appear to be a yearly contender for the Cup, sporting not only Federer, but also US Open quarterfinalist Stanislas Wawrinka.
Wawrinka played, but lost a fatiguing five-set singles match to Mikhail Kukushkin then dropped a straight sets doubles loss alongside Yves Allegro. Since 2006, Federer has played in just three of nine Davis Cup matches.
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