Sunday, April 06, 2014

Roger Federer's singles victory helps tie things up at Davis Cup

ATPWorldTour.com reviews Friday's Davis Cup quarter-final action.


SWITZERLAND 1, KAZAKHSTAN 1
Palexpo, Geneva, Switzerland (Hard, Indoor)


Following Stanislas Wawrinka's loss in the first rubber, Roger Federer came back strong to level Switzerland's tie with Kazakhstan on Friday in Geneva. The World No. 4 defeated 56th-ranked Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 in one hour and 52 minutes, capitalising on four of his nine break points.


"We've just got to start it all over again. That’s what I told Stan," Federer told DavisCup.com. "The weekend has only just started and that’s how I saw it going into my singles match.


"I'm confident for the weekend," he added. "Doubles, it's up in the air. You don't quite know what's going to happen, especially on this kind of a court. I think it's an open doubles, with maybe a slight advantage for us, but that doesn't mean much in tomorrow's match."


Andrey Golubev recorded the biggest win of his career as he upset the World No. 3 and Australian Open champion 7-6(5), 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(5). Golubev was denied on two match points in the 12th game of the fourth set, and saw three more go begging as he let slip a 6-2 lead in the ensuing tie-break. He converted his sixth opportunity, though, to claim victory in three hours and 14 minutes.


Wawrinka lost for just the third time this year, after beginning the season with a 13-0 mark. "He was playing really aggressive, and I didn't find a way to turn the match," he said. "I didn't find a way to put my game in place, to play my aggressive game from the baseline, and I did a lot of mistakes. In general it was not the best match and he deserved to win because he went for it."


In their only previous meeting, Kazakhstan routed Switzerland 5-0 in the 2010 World Group play-offs. The Kazakh team is bidding to reach the semi-finals for the first time on its third appearance in the quarter-finals.


atpworldtour.com

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