Roger Federer to miss Davis Cup World Group play-off
World No. 3 Roger Federer has once again decided not to play for Switzerland in the Davis Cup, and will miss his country’s World Group play-off against Kazakhstan, which begins this Friday.
In a statement on his website, Federer said: “I have decided not to join the Davis Cup team to Kazakhstan. I need some extra time to relax after the intense weeks in North America so I can finish the year strong.”
The 16-time Grand Slam champion had not been named in the Swiss squad that was announced earlier in September, but Federer’s announcement on his website has confirmed the fact he won’t be playing in the team competition.
Federer’s decision to take some time out after the US Open, however, is an understandable one as he comes to terms with his semi-final loss to Novak Djokovic at the US Open – a defeat that saw the former world No. 1 miss the final in Flushing Meadows for the first time since 2003.
In Federer’s absence, Switzerland will be represented by a four-man team consisting of US Open quarter-finalist and Swiss No. 2 Stanislas Wawrinka, Marco Chiudinelli, Michael Lammer and Yves Allegro.
Federer has been a sporadic Davis Cup participant over the years, and last represented his country in the competition in their World Group play-off against Italy in 2009, winning both his singles rubbers.
Indeed, when Federer has played in the team competition he has an impressive 27-6 win-loss record in his singles matches, and has also won 10 of the 15 doubles ties he has played.
He did not play in Switzerland’s first-round World Group loss to defending champions Spain this year – a clash that had the potential to pit Federer against his great rival Rafael Nadal but in the end saw neither player taking to the court for the tie (Nadal was injured at the time).
Federer’s next scheduled tournament is the Shanghai Masters 1000, which begins on October 10th.
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