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February 18, 2005
Federer gives Swiss miss
By The Australian
ROGER Federer believes next month's Davis Cup tie with the Netherlands will prove an interesting week for Swiss tennis.
For the first time in six years, the world No.1 will not be shouldering
the nation's hopes when the contest takes place from March 4-6.
Federer decided to skip the first-round tie in Switzerland to concentrate on maintaining his No.1 ranking.
As a result, Swiss captain Marc Rosset will have to rely on the
services of Michel Kratochvil, Ivo Heuberger, Yves Allegro and
Stanislas Wawrinka to pull off an unlikely victory against a Dutch side
spearheaded by Sjeng Schalken.
"I hope for them they can win because it will be quite extraordinary to
win a match without me because I've always been there," said Federer
said after beating Wawrinka 6-1 6-4 in the second round of the
Rotterdam Open this morning (AEDT).
"We've had some good success but usually it was always up to me if we were going to win the tie or not.
"It's going to be a very interesting week for Swiss tennis and for the future."
The 23-year-old, who won three grand slam tournaments in 2004, has been
the driving force behind Switzerland's Davis Cup challenge since making
his competition debut in 1999.
In 2001 Federer played in all three winning rubbers to earn the Swiss a
first-round win over the US and in 2003 he almost single handedly
guided his country to the semi-finals.
Despite staying away from the tie, Federer said he will keep a close
eye on proceedings and will be on call if any of the players need any
advice.
"If they call me and ask me how they should play against Schalken, I'll
tell them. But it's not me on the court so they have to do the work."
Federer added Wawrinka would have gained some pointers about handling a big occasion from today's match.
"If he wants to become a great player it's moments like today and the
Davis Cup that's going to make him a better player and make him believe
in his abilities," said Federer.
"He played a dead rubber against Romania but of course a live rubber is different.
"Whenever he has questions he can call me. It's an advantage for someone like him to be able to call me.
"I'm very willing to help him. I hope he plays."
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