Davis Cup Final 2014: Day 2 Scores and Results for France vs. Switzerland

Switzerland grabbed a 2-1 lead over France in the 2014 Davis Cup final, as Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka bested Richard Gasquet and Julien Benneteau in straight sets during Saturday's doubles match.

The Swiss duo triumphed 6-3, 7-5 and 6-4, as shared by the Davis Cup's official Twitter feed: 

Saturday's match appeared to have all of the ingredients for an upset, with Federer struggling during his singles match on Friday and the clay court favouring the French duo.

Federer's back injury appeared to bother him immensely against Gael Monfils, but the Swiss star looked fine early in the first set, serving with confidence and not hesitating in his lunges for the ball.

Serena Williams was loving the action, as she told her fans on Twitter:

"

What a BLAST watching Davis cup! How fun!! I love doubles! Hey @Venuseswilliams I'm watching @stanwawrinka and @rogerfederer play doubles!

— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) November 22, 2014"

The Swiss team played simple yet effective tennis in the first set, with Wawrinka in particular looking strong in his service games. Taking full advantage of several mistakes by Gasquet, Federer and Wawrinka dominated the rallies and quickly jumped out to a lead, winning the opener 6-3.

The hometown heroes provided more resistance in the second set, taking more risks in their serve to compensate for the mistakes that kept haunting them in the rallies. Targeting Federer's bad back didn't seem to do the hosts any good, as the World No. 2 comfortably put away any volleys and smashes.

The Sunday Times' Barry Flatman was impressed:

France had a chance to grab a pivotal break at 4-3, only for Wawrinka to end their hopes with a massive ace. The Swiss defended five break points in total in the second set, before Federer hit back with a backhand winner on the return to set up a service game for the second.

Sport Illustrated Tennis singled out Gasquet as the weak link for the hosts:

Rolling Stone's Juan Jose Vallejo did the same thing:

The French were clinging on for dear life at this point, and it was Benneteau who dropped his serve in the sixth game of the third set. Gasquet managed to save the first break point with an excellent smash, before Wawrinka split the pair to make it 4-2.

Federer, Gasquet and Wawrinka comfortably held to take the third set to 5-3, with Benneteau serving to keep France in the match. The Frenchman hit two double faults and seemed to be gifting the match to Switzerland, but he pulled himself together to hold and set up Federer to serve for the win. The veteran did just that, handing Switzerland the 2-1 lead in the tie.

ESPN's Howard Bryant thought the visitors made an excellent decision playing Federer, despite the concerns regarding his back:

As shared by The Tennis Nerds, Federer thanked coach David Macpherson, who has been working with the Swiss duo all week:

Federer will have a chance to win it for Switzerland when he takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Sunday's first match, but with the form Wawrinka is in, the Swiss will particularly like their chances in his match against Monfils.

France will need a small miracle to stop the Swiss from winning their very first Davis Cup when action resumes on Sunday.

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