Wawrinka gives Swiss 1-0 lead in Davis Cup final
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Lille, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Switzerland drew first blood on Friday when Stan Wawrinka handled Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to give the visitors a 1-0 lead against host France in the 2014 Davis Cup final.
The world No. 4 Australian Open champion Wawrinka bludgeoned the tennis ball in outgunning the former Aussie runner-up Tsonga on his home soil, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Wawrinka was spot on with his beautiful one-handed backhand and prevailed in 2 hours, 24 minutes by breaking Tsonga's serve five times, while the flashy Frenchman settled for only one break on Day 1.
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The 29-year-old Wawrinka is now 3-3 lifetime against the 12th-ranked Tsonga, including wins in their last two meetings. The Swiss slugger also topped Tsonga on clay in Madrid last year.
Wawrinka improved to 21-13 lifetime in his career Davis Cup singles.
Friday's nightcap on the red clay in Lille currently pits world No. 2 Wimbledon runner-up Roger Federer against former top-10 star and currently 19th-ranked Frenchman Monfils.
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Federer has a commanding 8-2 head-to-head record against Monfils, although their last meeting in the quarterfinals of this year's U.S. Open was a thriller, with the Swiss saving two match points before coming back to win in five sets.
Saturday's doubles match has a French tandem of Richard Gasquet and Julien Benneteau facing a Swiss duo of Marco Chiudinelli and Michael Lammer, but expect Federer and Wawrinka to team up for that one if the great Federer is fit enough to play.
The 33-year-old Wimbledon runner-up pulled out of last week's championship match at the ATP World Tour Finals in London due to back problems, which slowed the Swiss legend mightily in 2013.
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Sunday's reverse singles will pit the 17-time Grand Slam king Federer against Tsonga and Wawrinka versus Monfils.
The best-of-five affair is being staged on an indoor clay court in front of a capacity crowd of 27,000 at Stade Pierre Mauroy. That's the largest-ever crowd to watch a professional tennis match.
Switzerland is captained by Severin Luthi, while France is guided by former Aussie runner-up Arnaud Clement.
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The French are 10-2 all-time versus the Swiss in Davis Cup play. The two nations last met in a 2004 quarterfinal that was won by France.
The nine-time champion French are seeking their first Davis Cup title in 13 years, while Switzerland and the iconic Federer have never hoisted the coveted 114-year-old chalice.
The Swiss finished as runners-up in 1992.