 Photographer: Angelo Tonelli
Date: 18 Sep 2009 |  Photographer: Angelo Tonelli
Date: 18 Sep 2009 |  Photographer: Angelo Tonelli
Date: 18 Sep 2009 |  Photographer: Angelo Tonelli
Date: 18 Sep 2009 |  Photographer: Angelo Tonelli
Date: 18 Sep 2009 |  Photographer: Angelo Tonelli
Date: 18 Sep 2009 |  Photographer: Angelo Tonelli
Date: 18 Sep 2009 |  Photographer: Angelo Tonelli
Date: 18 Sep 2009 |  Photographer: Angelo Tonelli
Date: 18 Sep 2009 |  Photographer: Angelo Tonelli
Date: 18 Sep 2009 |  Photographer: Angelo Tonelli
Date: 18 Sep 2009 |  Photographer: Angelo Tonelli
Date: 18 Sep 2009 |
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| 18 Sep 2009 - Centro Sportivo "Valleta Cambiaso", Genoa - Marco Keller - ITA v SUI | |
| Swiss in charge in Genoa |
The Switzerland team is on the fastest possible track to keep its spot among the world's elite in Davis Cup by BNP Paribas after Roger Federer and Stanislas Wawrinka gave the Swiss a 2-0 lead against Italy with straight-sets wins.
After sealing a 63 64 61 win against world No. 64 Simone Bolleli, which gave the Swiss team the second point, Roger Federer got the nicest possible reward. Not only the Swiss supporters but the whole crowd of the Centro Sportivo Valletta Cambiaso gave Federer a long "standing ovation" for his impressive display which had lasted exactly 100 minutes.
"Given the circumstances, I am extremely happy with my performance," the world's best player said, "we have expected it much tougher today, but of course, we are very happy to have such a great start which gives us all the options for the weekend."
Federer - no signs of fatigue
Federer didn't seem like a player who hadn't spent any time on a clay court since winning his maiden French Open title 101 days ago. Nor did he look like a man, who had just 85 hours before, lost an epic five-set Grand Slam final in New York and and then undertaken a transatlantic flight and a change of surface. Federer just seemed every bit the top player that he is and has proven again all over this summer.
He played on a good level from the beginning and was able to break Bolelli at the right
moment at 4-3. In the second and third sets, he broke in the third game and then held on against an opponent, who gave him a serious fight despite the clear result. "I wasn't surprised, how well he played," Bolelli said, "although his preparation wasn't ideal. For me, it still was a pretty good match." Federer was extremely pleased: "It wasn't obvious, with the jetlag, the surface change and then to play here in Italy. I’m very happy with the scoreline."
In the opening match, Wawrinka was ready from the word "go", found the rhythm from the baseline much faster than his opponent and jumped out to a 4-0 lead. Seppi came back from 1-5 to 4-5 but then had to concede the set when a forehand first hit the tape and then went wide.
Wawrinka - at home in Italy
Strongly encouraged by the 400 or so Swiss supporters, Wawrinka was able to reduce the "unforced errors" by adding more topspin. "I wanted to make him work. If he wanted to win, he had to go through long rallies", the "Italy lover" explained. Wawrinka had had the biggest success of his career in Rome last year, when he reached the final of the Masters Series and entered the top 10 the week after. "It really works well for me in this country", he said smiling.
Seppi struggled badly with his serve, which he only held once in five attempts in the first set, And the situation didn't improve as Wawrinka took early 4-0 leads again in the next two sets. Seppi was only a shadow of the player, who has beaten so many of the world’s top players and Wawrinka routinely extended the lead. His opponent was far from his best, however, as he explained:
"From the second set on, I didn't feel well. I had stomach problem and severe headache." After the second set, Seppi went into the locker room to have some tests but then continued to play, without ever reaching his usual level.
At 1-5 in the third set, Seppi showed a last effort and saved two matchpoints on his own serve and two more on Wawrinka’s before the Swiss concluded after 2 hours and 14 minutes when a passing shot from the Italian finished wide. For the Swiss No. 2 it was the ninth singles win in the fifteenth live rubber.
Switzerland now has effectively three match points. Of course, they have a big chance of finishing the tie on Saturday, where they have the luxury to decide whether they want to play the Olympic doubles champions or rather rest them for Sunday. "It will also depend on how I feel when I wake up on Saturday. We have plenty of options and will decide what is the best thing in view of the whole tie."
All day long the flags were flying at half-mast and a minute of silence was observed in
memory of the six Italian soldiers, who had been killed in Afghanistan on Thurdsay when a car bomb exploded. The Italian players also wore a mourning band.
Related Links on other websites
> Informazione en italiano
> Infos from Swiss Tennis
Related Links on Daviscup.com
> Tie Information
> Scorecards and statistics from the tie
> Audio interviews from the tie
> Federer's presence makes Swiss favourites
Related Audio
 Interview with Stanislas Wawrinka (SUI) - day 1
 
If you cannot hear the audio, then please update your media player by following one of the links above.
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