Roger Federer spent much of Monday putting out statements of apology and asking the Swiss public to forgive his choice of words after he appeared to lay the blame for a 5-0 Davis Cup loss to the U.S. on his teammate, Stan
Wawrinka.
“If I have committed a fault, I am sorry for all the world,” was what Federer said in translation.
Federer had been scorched by a multitude of internet comments to web sites in Switzerland after saying during the lost weekend of tennis that Wawrinka had played “not so good.” As for himself, Federer refused to find fault with either his four-set loss to John Isner in singles or his loss with Wawrinka in doubles.
He told a press conference in Fribourg, where the tie was held, that he thought he played pretty well. Stan, however, had his difficulties, Federer said.
Web site users ripped into Federer for the remarks and it was obviously so widespread that Federer felt he had to do some damage control.
Why he would criticize Wawrinka is a mystery to me. The Swiss No. 2 was No. 28 in the world while Fish was No. 8. The two men had played twice before this tie with Fish winning both times. It’s true that those wins were on hardcourts, but neither of these players had carved out a reputation as great clay courters, so, despite the “away” venue, Fish was justifiably the favorite, though he had to go 9-7 in the fifth set to win.
Federer, who had earlier that day lost to Isner, said it was a pity that Wawrinka didn’t win because it would have “put pressure on the U.S.” to win the doubles on Day 2. Why wasn’t it a pity Federer didn’t win, in order to
relieve some of the pressure on Wawrinka?
Federer’s whining wasn’t the only bad vibes coming from the Swiss players, who were moaning even before the tie about the venue (about 2,000 feet above sea level) and the surface (indoor clay). But how could they complain
when they picked the venue and surface?
In his effort to patch things up with Wawrinka, Federer said he would love to play Davis Cup doubles with him again.
Charles Bricker can be reached at _nflwriterr@aol.com