The Davis Cup Call (YC 7.31)
Mornin'. Packing day today, so this will be the only post until Jackie-Oh publishes the Deuce Club. She's done an amazing job as TennisWorld's social director, and I'm looking forward to more highly interactive sessions like we had week ago with those music videos.
I should have post up soon at ESPN, in which I riff a little on Swiss Davis Cup and Roger Federer confidant Severin Luthi's recent suggestion that Roger will be playing in the Switzerland vs. Italy tie (September), which the Swiss must win to remain in the "big league" World Group. I crunched some numbers to show just what Federer has been up against for most of his career as a Davis Cup performer. The stats suggest that while it's great for Davis Cup fans (like me) to call on Roger to play, it's neither accurate nor fair to accuse him of blowing off Davis Cup duty simply to accumulate greater individual glory (is that still possible for this guy? But that's getting ahead of ourselves. . .).
Federer, who's still got some tread on the tires, has already played one more Davis Cup tie than Pete Sampras (The Mighty Fed has played 17, by my count; anyone care to fact check?). But Sampras played in four finals, two of which earned the U.S. the giant birthday-cake- impersonating Davis Cup. In the first of those successful efforts (1992 vs., ironically, Switzerland), Sampras played only doubles. In the other final, Sampras wrote his name large in Davis Cup lore and legend by almost single-handedly sweeping Russia, on a very slow clay court in Moscow. He won both his singles (he had to be carried off the court, cramping, at the end of one of them) and he paired with Todd Martin in the winning doubles. It was an epic performance and, by Pete's own account, one of his career highlights.
Now look at Federer - he's played more ties than Sampras, but has never been able to carry Switzerland past the semifinals. The real killer stat, though, is that Federer is 35-11 in Cup play, including a brilliant 25-6 in singles. Sampras, by contrast, was 19-6 (15-8 in singles). To me, the key detail here is that Federer has already played 21 more matches than Sampras did in his entire career. And that a lot of tennis.
Granted, Sampras was no McEnroe when it came to Davis Cup play (Mac's career record: 59-10), and he had the luxury of beng part of a stable of great players who more-or-less shared the DC duties. But the numbers here underscore how much work Federer has already done in what has amounted to little more than wheel-spinninig by the Swiss. It used to be that no matter what Federer did, he simply didn't have adequate support to give the Swiss a realistic shot at the Cup. But with Stanislaus Wawrinka having emerged as at Top 10-level player, the scenario changed.
It might be a smart move for Federer to raise Davis Cup higher on his list of priorities, now that the no. 1 ranking isn't of paramount importance and he's secured the Grand Slam singles titles record. I don't think Federer "needs" to perform Davis Cup heroics to add to his legacy, but I do believe it a shame that a guy of his towering ability should be denied the satisfaction of a successful Davis Cup campaign - despite the investment it requires.
The company is pretty good in Davis Cup Valhalla - all of the guys who are spoken of in the same breath as Federer have carved out comfortable niches there, even Bjorn Borg, whose situation vis a vis supporting cast was similar to Federer's. Borg led Sweden to a Davis Cup triumph that helped put Swedish tennis - and Borg - on the sporting radar. The lore and legend of Davis Cup is incomplete without a Federer chapter, and Federer's own resume has that one, irritatingly puzzling blank spot that Davis Cup distinction would fill.
Of course, even if Federer decides to prioritize Davis Cup, this isn't anything like a slam-dunk. Wawrinka, while capable of beating anyone, has always seemed a little prone to freezing up under pressure, and there's no greater pressure than the kind you face in Davis Cup. Just yesterday, Wawrinka was upset in the Swiss Open by no. 119 Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil, despite (or was it because?) Federer was not playing in their home championships. It was a great opportunity for the top-seeded Wawrinka. but he apparently choked it away (and will now fall out of the Top 20 to boot).
Federer might be better off with a less gifted and/or highly ranked player (but still a viable no. 2) who's got sand when it comes to facing pressure. Oh sure, Federer and Wawrinka won the Olympic games gold medal in doubles, but that was doubles, and if you can't step up and play like you deserve to win with Federer as your partner, you might want to contemplate changing to a more sedate occupation.
Don't think that Roger Federer isn't aware of these details as he contemplates what, if anything, to do about this Davis Cup thing.
Have a great weekend, everyone - I'll have a Your Call up tomorrow morning.