Swiss stars will likely be absent when the United States hosts Switzerland in next month’s Davis Cup tie.
Team USA will host the tied on a hard court at Birmingham’s Legacy Arena/BJCC, February 3-5th.
Roddick: Federer Is Third Favorite For Slams
The last time Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka both played Davis Cup was in September, 2015, when the pair joined forces leading Switzerland to a 4-1 victory over The Netherlands in Geneva. That victory came nearly a year after Federer and Wawrinka led Switzerland to its first Davis Cup championship with a 3-1 conquest of host France in the 2014 final.
In a conference call with the media to promote his appearance at the PowerShares QQQ Cup at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on Saturday night, U.S. Davis Cup captain Jim Courier said he does not expect Federer, who missed the final five months of the 2016 season to rehab his surgically-repaired left knee, to play the first-round tie and isn’t sure about Wawrinka’s status.
“Roger’s already put his schedule out. It does not include Davis Cup,” Courier said. “So I think we would be pretty surprised should he decide to play, particularly in a year where Laver Cup is very prominent in his schedule—another week he’s adding.”
The schedule posted on Wawrinka’s official website does not include Davis Cup though Courier is not completely counting out the US Open champion.
“Stan, we just don’t know,” Courier said. “Ten days prior, when both teams have to put forth their four-man rosters we’ll know. I really don’t have a feeling one way or the other. I’ll have a better idea once I get to Australia, get in the locker room and kind of sniff around.”
The USA has won three of four Davis Cup meetings with Switzerland, including a 4-1 victory in the 2009 tie also staged in Birmingham. Federer did not play that tie; Wawrinka beat James Blake to account for the Swiss side's lone point.
Courier faces John McEnroe in one semifinal and Andy Roddick takes on Blake in the other semifinal with the winners meeting in the final on Saturday night. Tickets for the PowerShares QQQ Cup are available through Ticketmaster by visiting www.barclayscenter.com or www.ticketmaster.com, or by calling 800-745-3000.
Photo credit: Davis Cup