mtenis.com.pl

SWITZERLAND 2, ITALY 0
Venue: Palexpo, Geneva, SUI (hard - indoor)

Switzerland is one win away from reaching the Davis Cup final for the first time since 1992 after Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka both recorded straight-sets wins on Friday in Geneva. The host nation leads Italy 2-0 after Federer defeated Bolelli 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4 and Wawrinka followed up a with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-2 victory over Fabio Fognini.

Federer and Wawrinka have the chance to seal victory for Switzerland when they join forces in Saturday’s doubles.

Victory marked Federer’s 36th Davis Cup singles win; his last defeat came in the 2012 first round against the United States’ John Isner. It was also his 600th hard-court win and an ATP World Tour-best 55th tour-level win of the season.

"I just stayed with him really," said Federer, reflecting on the first set. "I served well myself. It ended up going to the tie-break, which I thought was the right thing. In the tie-break, I really think I served well throughout. The margins were small in the first set.

"In the second set I was finally able to get the break; that broke the deadlock for me a little bit. I was able to play with the lead which is always easier. I'm just happy overall how it went. It's important to get that first point and that was the most important part."

Wawrinka clinched his 20th Davis Cup singles win as he fired 16 aces converted six of his nine break points to defeat Fognini in 90 minutes. The 29-year-old Wawrinka improved to a 4-1 lead in his FedEx ATP Head2Head series with Fognini.

There isn’t much Roger Federer hasn’t achieved after more than 16 years on tour, but there remains an important item of business on the Swiss maestro’s radar as the 2014 season nears its conclusion.

Federer is seeking to send Switzerland into its first Davis Cup final since 1992 and bring the nation one step closer to its maiden title. The 33 year old will have destiny in his hands on Sunday, with the opportunity to seal Swiss hopes with victory over World No. 17 Fabio Fognini and Italy. The Italians were spared elimination after the five-set heroics of Fognini and Simone Bolelli in Saturday’s doubles rubber.

"With the season that Stan and me and everybody has had, we're ready for the big occasion and we're not going to shy away from it,” said Federer. “We're going to embrace it.”

Federer could potentially find himself with a jam-packed conclusion to his 2014 campaign, having clinched a berth in a record 13th straight Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, followed by the Davis Cup Final a week later. The Basel native has amassed a 35-7 singles record in Davis Cup play and is riding a five-match win streak, since falling to John Isner in a first round defeat to the United States in 2012.

Contesting his 25th tie, Federer is looking to equal the Jakob Hlasek and Marc Rosset-led 1992 squad that reached Switzerland’s lone final. The Swiss fell 3-1 to the U.S., despite a five-set win by Rosset over Courier in the second rubber. John McEnroe and Pete Sampras came back from two-sets down to clinch the subsequent doubles rubber, before Courier topped Hlasek in four sets for the title.

"We haven't had that much success as a team over the last 50 years, so we still talk about 20 years ago when they made the final in 1992 against Sampras, Agassi, Courier and McEnroe in Ft. Worth, Texas. We also have that opportunity to write history this time around. I hope they will talk about this team 20 years from now. It would be a dream for us, the players."

FRANCE 3, CZECH REPUBLIC 0
Venue: Roland Garros, Paris, FRA (clay - outdoor)

France took an unassailable 3-0 lead over two-time defending champion Czech Republic on Saturday, as Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga powered Les Bleus into its first Davis Cup final since 2010.

Gasquet and Tsonga overcame Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(5), 6-1 in three hours and 35 minutes, firing 16 aces and 82 winners, while converting on six of 12 break point opportunities.

Nine-time champion France will face either Switzerland or Italy for the title, having now won six straight rubbers following a 0-2 comeback against Germany in this year’s quarter-finals. France's most recent appearance in the Davis Cup final resulted in a 3-2 defeat to Serbia, with Viktor Troicki topping Michael Llodra in a live fifth rubber.

"It's for sure one of the best moments in our career to play here in a semi-final and to win in the second day," Tsonga said. "We always kept the fighting spirit and stayed in the match - we all know the Davis Cup is tough."

Czech Republic was denied a third consecutive appearance in the Davis Cup final, following triumphs in 2012-13. The nation was seeking to become the first nation to achieve the feat since Australia in 1999-2001.

Berdych and Stepanek saw their 10-match win streak as a duo snapped, falling to 15-2 together. Gasquet and Tsonga, meanwhile, were teaming for just the second time, following victory over Australia's Chris Guccione and Lleyton Hewitt on debut earlier this year. Individually, Tsonga improved to 5-0 in Davis Cup doubles rubbers and 20-4 overall, while Gasquet moved to 11-8 overall.

"I'm very proud and very happy," said Gasquet. "It's great to win against the Czech Republic. We fought a lot. It's a big honour for us to win 3-0 and go to the final. It's a big victory for us."