“It was a bastard thing” – Federer recalls French Davis Cup team ‘ignoring’ Wawrinka after 2014 final
The French side was understandably gutted, losing at home, and as per Stan Wawrinka’s recollection, he became their punching bag
Tennis Mag / Panoramic
It’s been over a decade since Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka scripted history at the Davis Cup for Switzerland. The two took down the home-favorite French 3-1 in the 2014 final by themselves to secure their nation a first Davis Cup glory on November 23.
Wawrinka, who had won the Australian Open that year, rose to the occasion and defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2) to give his side the desired start, but Federer failed to overcome Gael Monfils in the second match (losing 6-1, 6-4, 6-3).
The Swiss then paired up and defeated the French duo of Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet (6-3, 7-5, 6-4) to give Switzerland the lead. Federer then sealed the deal by downing Gasquet (6-4, 6-4, 6-2) in the fourth match of the summit clash against a hostile crowd in Lille, France.
To celebrate their triumph’s tenth anniversary, Federer, Wawrinka, and Severin Luthi — then Switzerland coach, appeared on Radio Television Suisse (RTS) for a chat and recounted the memorable two days.
The French side was understandably gutted, losing at home, and as per Wawrinka’s recollection, he became their punching bag.
“I found myself with the whole French team around me asking me questions, not being happy, with the frustration of defeat,” the three-time Major winner told RTS (via Eurosport). “There was one person who intervened, it was Gael Monfils who said: ‘Guys, stop being sore losers and leave him alone.'”
The Swiss might have sailed through to the title on the back of Federer and Wawrinka’s heroics, however, the two players weren’t perfectly harmonious leading up to the event. They had battled against each other in the season-ending championship semi-finals, where Wawrinka had a public discord with the 20-time Grand Slam champion’s wife Mirka.
As per Federer, the Frenchmen attempted to exploit the apparent divide among the Swiss:
I think they had decided to highlight me and ignore Stan. And it was a bastard thing.”
Roger Federer
“Everybody was congratulating me for the Davis Cup victory. I was told, ‘Rog, you’re incredible, you’re the man.’ And I was there, ‘Guys I can read you. You want to hurt Stan.'”
At this, Wawrinka chimed in:
“I am necessarily the easy target, because Roger is untouchable. Unfortunately for them and fortunately for us, we won. That was ten years ago, so everything is fine.”
What happened between Wawrinka and Mirka?
During the aforementioned ATP World Tour Finals semi-final match, Wawrinka complained to the chair umpire about Mirka heckling him on occasions before he prepared to serve.
In one instance, the now 38-year-old pulled out of his return guard and publicly called out Mirka, prompting the chair umpire to intervene.
Federer managed to stage a comeback against his countrymen, winning it 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (6) before pulling out of the final against Novak Djokovic due to a back injury.
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