Davis Cup 2014: World Group Semi-Final and Playoff Results, Schedule and More
The 2014 Davis Cup is gradually drawing to a crescendo and Friday saw the semi-final and playoff phases get underway.
In the semis, the Czech Republic and France began their head-to-head for a place in this year's final, with Italy and Switzerland the other parties hoping to claim their berth.
Only the most deserving teams will make their way into the closing encounter, while the playoff draw also featured a high standard of matchups, with teams from all over the world striving to book their spots in the 2015 tournament.
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
| Home | Score | Away |
| France | 4-1 | Czech Rep. |
| Switzerland | 3-2 | Italy |
| Sept. 12 | 9:40 a.m. BST/4:40 a.m. ET | Richard Gasquet | 6-3 6-2 6-3 | Tomas Berdych |
| Sept. 12 | 12:20 p.m. BST/7:20 a.m. ET | Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 6-2 6-2 6-3 | Lukas Rosol |
| Sept. 13 | 1 p.m. BST/8 a.m. ET | Richard Gasquet/Jo-Wilfried Tsonga | 6-7 (4) 6-4 7-6 (5) 6-1 | Radek Stepanek/Tomas Berdych |
| Sept. 14 | 9:30 a.m. BST/4:30 a.m. ET | Julien Benneteau | 4-6 3-6 | Jiri Vesely |
| Sept. 14 | 11:30 a.m. BST/6:30 a.m. ET | Gael Monfils | 5-7 6-4 7-5 | Lukas Rosol |
| Sept. 12 | 12:05 p.m. BST/7:05 a.m. ET | Roger Federer | 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4 | Simone Bolelli |
| Sept. 12 | 2:50 p.m. BST/9:50 a.m. ET | Stanislas Wawrinka | 6-2 6-3 6-2 | Fabio Fognini |
| Sept. 13 | 12 p.m. BST/7 a.m. ET | Stanislas Wawrinka/Marco Chiudinelli | 7-5 3-6 5-7 6-3 6-2 | Simone Bolelli/Fabio Fognini |
| Sept. 14 | 11 a.m. BST/6 a.m. ET | Roger Federer | 6-2 6-3 7-6 (4) | Fabio Fognini |
| Sept. 14 | 1 p.m. BST/8 a.m. ET | Michael Lammer | 4-6 6-1 4-6 | Andreas Seppi |
| Serbia | 2-2 | India |
| Spain | 3-1 | Brazil |
| Isreal | 2-3 | Argentina |
| Canada | 3-1 | Colombia |
| USA | 5-0 | Slovakia |
| Australia | 5-0 | Uzbekistan |
| Croatia | 3-2 | Netherlands |
| Belgium | 3-2 | Ukraine |
Day 3 Semi-Final Recap
An immaculate display from Roger Federer helped Switzerland to the Davis Cup final, where they'll take on France in what promises to be a mouthwatering clash.
The 17-time grand slam winner triumphed over Italy's Fabio Fognini in three sets to send his nation into the last-two. Here's how much it meant to the 33-year-old, courtesy of Eurosport:
The Italian rarely concerned Federer during the clash, and afterwards, Switzerland's talisman was delighted to have helped inspire the nation to what'll be only their second ever appearance in the competition finale:
The final score read 3-1 to the Swiss, and although Italy kept their hopes alive in dramatic fashion, there were few who would have backed against the majestic Federer getting the job done in front of a raucous home crowd.
In the final game of the match the Italians were able to salvage some pride, as Andreas Seppi triumphed over Michael Lammer.
For the Swiss supporters, it's certainly an exciting time. Not only do they have Federer at their disposal, but with Stanislas Wawrinka on the team, there is clear strength in depth ahead of the final clash. And you suspect if they're to go on and win the tournament for the first time in their history those players will have to be at their very, very best.
As tennis writer Christopher Clarey highlights, the final is shaping up to be something special:
That's because they'll be going up against a France that's bristling with class and after confirming their place in the semi-final on Day 2, a strong performance from Gael Monfils against Lukas helped Les Bleus secure an overall winning scoreline of 4-1.
The French team will play the final in front of their home supporters at Roland Garros, and after their forensic dispatching of the current holders here, it's easy to see why they're likely to be the favourites in that clash. But with Federer clearly in excellent form, the Swiss look inspired and that should make for one of the most gripping finals we've seen in years.
Day 3 Playoffs Recap
A day of massive drama in the playoffs saw a host of nations put the finishing touches on their respective clashes.
Starting the day at 1-1, wins for Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares in the doubles gave Brazil a 2-1 lead over Spain, and that was pushed into an insurmountable 3-1 lead when Thomas Bellucci saw of the challenge of Roberto Bautista Agut in the singles.
Brazil's great rivals Argentina were also able to sample victory in their match, after overturning a 2-1 deficit to win through 3-2 on the final day against Israel. Leonardo Mayer and Carlos Berlocq were the heroes, as both players won their single matches under great pressure.
The result was confirmed by the Davis Cup official Twitter account:
Elsewhere, Canada won the one point needed to see off Colombia in their playoff match, as Milos Raonic was too good for Santiago Giraldo in the singles.
New U.S. Open Champion Marin Cilic was the hero once again this week, as he scored a vital win over over Thiemo De Bakker to see Croatia win their match 3-2 against the Netherlands.
David Goffin ensured there'd be no nervy moments for Belgium though, as his win over over Sergiy Stahovsky was enough to give his nation an unassailable two-point lead; they eventually ran out 3-2 victors.
The match between India and Serbia will go to a fifth rubber, and all eyes will be on the clash between Yuki Bhambri and Filip Krajnovic to see who emerges victorious there. Play was cut short in that one due to heavy rain, as noted by the Davis Cup official Twitter account:
In addition, the United States and Australia both completed 5-0 whitewashes in their respective battles with Slovakia and Uzbekistan respectively.
Day 2 Semi-Final Recap
All four semi-finalists changed the nominations making up their doubles for Day 2, where Stanislas Wawrinka and Radek Stepanek were the only initial nominees who survived the selection, for Switzerland and Czech Republic, respectively.
The official Davis Cup Twitter account confirmed the switch in personnel:
The Italians kept their chances for the 2014 Davis Cup alive with a hard-fought win over the Swiss doubles team, ensuring their tie will have to be finished on Sunday.
Fabio Fognini and Simone Bolelli went down two sets to one against Wawrinka and Marco Chiudinelli, but as shared by the tournament's official Twitter feed, they fought their way back into the match:
The Swiss team had dominated the first day of their Davis Cup encounter with Italy, and after a shaky opening set, they appeared to be cruising to an easy clean sweep of their opponents. But Fognini and Bolelli dug their heels in and broke early in the fifth set, ensuring the duo of Wawrinka and Chiudinelli remain winless in four outings together.
Bolelli spoke proudly of what he had just achieved after the match:
The Swiss team are still strong favourites to make the final, and Roger Federer will have a chance to wrap things up early when he plays Fognini on Sunday.
The French duo of Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga took care of business against the Czech Republic, losing a tie-break in the opening set before winning three consecutive sets to book France's spot in the final:
The doubles win marks the first time France will play in the final since 2010, while the Czechs hadn't lost a Davis Cup tie since 2011.
Radek Stepanek and Tomas Berdych gave the hosts everything they could handle for three sets, but the powerful service of Tsonga made the difference. The Czech pair made up a 4-0 deficit in the third set to keep their chances alive, but once the French squad pulled through, the match was over.
Captain Arnaud Clement told reporters that it's easier to sit on the bench when your teammates are playing fantastic tennis:
Berdych proved himself an excellent sport:
The result means the Czech Republic's two-year reign as Davis Cup champions is over, and after Saturday's round of doubles, the French and Swiss teams will likely resume their rivalry in the final.
Day 2 Playoffs recap
Australia booked their return to the World Group for 2015, as Lleyton Hewitt and Chris Guccione easily took care of Uzbekistan's Denis Istomin and Farrukh Dustov 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-2 in the doubles, completing the clean sweep, per Fox Sports News:
The Aussies didn't drop a single set to Uzbekistan, and Hewitt and Guccione didn't even drop a single serve on Saturday. Speaking to The Associated Press, Hewitt said he loved teaming up with his compatriot:
"We are complete opposite game styles, personalities, everything, in a lot of ways, but we team up really well and we know what we're going to get from one another on the court. We don't play a lot of doubles together, but I feel in these one-off matches we gel pretty well.
"
Belgium needed five sets to get past Ukraine in Olivier Rochus' last match for the team, pairing with Ruben Bemelmans to overcome the duo of Sergiy Stakhovsky and Sergei Bubka, via the tournament's official Twitter feed:
Belgium now lead Ukraine 2-1 going into the final round of singles. Croatia lead the Netherlands by the same score after Saturday's doubles, with U.S. Open Champion Marin Cilic pairing with Marin Draganja to get past Robin Haase and Jean-Julien Rojer, winning in four sets.
Colombia kept their World Group chances alive against Canada, as Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah survived two tie-breaks to beat Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil, as shared by Sportsnet's Arash Madani:
Andy Ram and Jonathan Erlich needed all five sets to give Israel a 2-1 lead over Argentina, and one win on Sunday will be enough to see the Israelis record perhaps the biggest upset of the weekend.
The United States' Bob and Mike Ryan finished off Slovakia's Norbert Gombos and Lukas Lacko in straight sets. The twin brothers earned a 6-1, 6-2, 6-1 victory to solidify the U.S.' World Group holding next year, per the tournament's Twitter page.
Brazil's Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares won the third round over Spain in three sets, giving Thomaz Bellucci the chance to clinch the playoff with a singles victory over Roberto Bautista Agut.
Day 1 Semi-Final Recap
First up in Friday's action came the promising clash between world No. 6 Tomas Berdych and France's Richard Gasquet, entering the fixture ranked No. 21.
However, those figures didn't compute as the Czech giant fell in straight sets (6-3 6-2 6-3) to a foe who looked likely to emerge triumphant from the start. The official Davis Cup Twitter account praised Gasquet's victory:
Preventing Berdych from ever really getting off the mark, Gasquet's first two sets were over in 40 minutes and 37 minutes, respectively, showing just how eager France's representative was to give his nation an early advantage.
And that trend continued with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat Lukas Rosol in another trouncing of the opposition 6-2 6-2 6-3.
This rubber was even swifter than the one preceding it, and only in the third nine-game set was the French victor forced over the 30-minute mark in time taken to dispose of Rosol.
The New York Times' Christopher Clarey was quick to point out the defending champions' sensational fall from grace, albeit a deserved one:
That was all the action from Paris for the day, with attention turning to Geneva, where Roger Federer got the Swiss off to a rousing start against Italy, easing past Simone Bolelli, once again in straight sets 7-6 6-4 6-4.
Bloguin's Matt Zemek detailed just how close the fixture was, however, despite the dominance of the world No. 3 on sets:
Stanislas Wawrinka took on Fabio Fognini in the late fixture of the day, maintaining the straight-sets trend that ran throughout Day 1 with a 6-2 6-3 6-2 win.
Switzerland and France built up comfortable leads at the first hurdle to head into the weekend needing just one more rubber win to seal their places in the final, Italy and the Czech Republic left with mountains to climb.
Day 1 Playoffs Recap
Serbia and Australia lived up their favourites tags in the first two matches of the playoffs stage on Friday, getting the better of India and Uzbekistan, respectively, with no sharing of the spoils in sight.
Dusan Lajovic was first up for the Serbians at Bangalore' KSLTA Tennis Stadium, and despite beating Yuki Bhambri 2-6 3-6 in the opening sets, the third wasn't quite as elementary:
Despite that late surge, India fell into a 1-0 deficit, Lajovic winning that third set 5-7 and fixing his gaze upon a weekend fixture with Somdev Devvarman.
The Australians were similarly rampant, and despite Denis Istomin's best attempt to put up a fight for Uzbekistan, he was bested by Nick Kyrgios 6-4 7-5 6-4.
The grass court in Perth proved hospitable for the hosts as Lleyton Hewitt eased past Farrukh Dustov, as confirmed by ABC grandstand:
It would take an almighty dismantling for the visitors to dislodge Australia's momentum at this stage, and a partnership between Hewitt and Chris Guccione in the doubles promises to be tough to beat.
Of the rest of the playoff pool, the North Americans were the only other powers able to claim a decisive lead after Day 1, the U.S.A. beating Slovakia 2-0 through wins from John Isner and Sam Querrey, and Canada notching ahead of Colombia 2-0.
For the remaining combatants, there was a sharing of the spoils as Spain and Brazil drew 1-1 after the opening phase, Argentina and Israel also ending the first day level.
The same could be said for Croatia's battle against the Netherlands and Ukraine's head-to-head against Belgium, with Saturday's doubles poised to pull some of these parties apart.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
