Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka spoke at length to the Swiss media RTS to celebrate ten years of the Swiss victory in the Davis Cup. And the two champions particularly focused on the altercation they had with the French players after the final.
November 21, 2014. France challenges Switzerland in the Davis Cup final on the clay court of Villeneuve d'Ascq. At stake, a tenth Silver Salad Bowl for France, and a first for Switzerland. A Swiss team that the Blues thought was viable, due to Roger Federer's back pain and the bad atmosphere that could reign among the Helvetians, after the clash between Federer's wife and Stan Wawrinka in the middle of the semi-final of the Masters in London, the week before the Davis Cup final.
On Friday evening, the French and Swiss were tied after Wawrinka's four-set victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gaël Monfils' three-set victory over Federer. But ultimately, the Swiss (Federer-Wawrinka) won the doubles on Saturday and the No. 1 match (Federer against Gasquet) on Sunday and therefore lifted the trophy. Ten years later, the Swiss media RTS interviewed Wawrinka and Federer at length, who told behind the scenes of the exploit, and in particular the altercation they had with the French after the press conference, during which Wawrinka, a little tipsy, had drunk them several times.
Federer: “I thought it was pretty dirty”
“I found myself with the whole French team around me asking myself questions, not being happy, with the frustration of the defeat. There was one person who intervened, it was Gaël Monfils who said: 'Guys, stop being sore losers and leave him alone'”raconte Wawrinka.
Roger Federer also remembers the attitude of the Blues, vindictive against his teammate, but not against him:
“Everyone congratulated me on winning the Davis Cup. I think they decided to throw all the flowers at me and basically ignore Stan. And I found it quite dirty. People said to me: 'Well done Rog', you're incredible.' And I was like, 'Okay, I see where you want to go. It’s to hurt Stan.”
“Obviously, in the team, I’m a bit of an easy target since we don’t touch Roger,” Wawrinka admitted. Ultimately, the atmosphere between the two camps calmed over time. Since then, France and Switzerland have faced each other once in the Davis Cup, last year, but it was a group match in Manchester, and only veteran Stan Wawrinka was still on the field. France won 3-0, but the context was much less tense than ten years ago…
France
