mtenis.com.pl

FRANCE 0, SWITZERLAND 1
Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille, France (Indoor, Clay)

Stan Wawrinka hit 61 winners in an awesome display of power tennis on Friday to get Switzerland off to a winning start versus nine-time former champion France in the Davis Cup final.

Wawrinka beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for the third time in five clay-court meetings, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, on Friday afternoon. The final is being watched by a record Davis Cup crowd of 27,432 at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille.

Roger Federer will now attempt to give 1992 finalist Switzerland a 2-0 advantage when he faces France's Gael Monfils in the second singles rubber.

Wawrinka, who is No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, played with great authority for large parts of his clash against Tsonga, who dropped to a 36-19 match record on the season.

In the first set Wawrinka broke clear at 1-1, winning five straight games to clinch the 27-minute opener. Eight of his 14 winners came off his forehand wing. Tsonga was more aggressive in the second set, when he hit 16 winners and won six of his eight points at the net to level the scoreline.

The 29-year-old Swiss regrouped to break Tsonga's serve in the sixth game of the third set, for a 4-2 lead, when Tsonga hit a forehand wide. Tsonga went on to recover from 15/40 at 2-5, firing up the French crowd, but he could not deny Wawrinka, who lost just seven of his service points in the 42-minute set.

Wawrinka then took a 2-0 lead in the fourth set. He earned his 21st singles rubber match win for Switzerland in two hours and 24 minutes, hitting 61 winners to Tsonga's 39.

FRANCE 1, SWITZERLAND 1
Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille, France (Indoor, Clay)

Gael Monfils held his nerve on Friday to record one of the biggest wins of his career and get nine-time former champion France back on level terms at 1-1 against Switzerland in the Davis Cup final.

Monfils was at his aggressive best to beat World No. 2 Roger Federer of Switzerland for the first time in 14 months, 6-1, 6-4, 6-3, in the second singles rubber of the tie. There was to be no repeat of September’s US Open quarter-final, when Federer bounced back from losing the first two sets to defeat Monfils 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 7-5, 6-2.

Federer, who had won 18 of his past 19 matches since the US Open, was largely powerless against Monfils, who hit 44 winners, including 10 aces for his 36th match win of the season. The pair’s 11th meeting lasted one hour and 46 minutes and it was Monfils’ first victory over Federer since the 2013 Shanghai Rolex Masters.

The 28-year-old Monfils was rock solid on serve – winning 17 of his 17 first service points in the first set, 16 of his 16 second service points in the second set and 11 of his 12 first service points in the third set. The Frenchman denied Federer two break points en route to recording his 10th Davis Cup match win in 12 singles rubbers.

Federer, who has an ATP World Tour-best 72-12 match record on the season including a 5-6 record in finals, committed 29 unforced errors in the end. He is now 37-8 in singles ties for Switzerland, having suffered his first singles defeat in the competition since losing to American John Isner in February 2012.

Earlier in the day, Stan Wawrinka beat France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to give Switzerland a 1-0 lead.