Wawrinka battles past Hewitt for tie victory – Davis Cup 2011 WG Play-offs: AUS vs SUI
Two top ranked Swiss competitors sailed their side to victory in the tie against a crafty Australian squad in the Davis Cup World Group playoffs. Team Switzerland registered a hard fought victory against Australia, settling the
final scores at 3-2, to move into the next round of the tournament.
The contest was staged on the lush grassy courts of Royal Sydney Golf Club, Sydney, Australia, from 16th to 18th of this month, with the home side failing to come up to the hopes of the enthusiastic local
crowd. It was the first ever victory for the Swiss side against Australia in Davis Cup matches, as the Aussies lead 4-0 prior to the tie.
The Swiss squad was captained by Severin Luthi, with the world number three, Roger Federer, leading the attack from his side. The winner of 16 Grand Slam titles, Federer, was accompanied by the 19th ranked Stanislas
Wawrinka, Stephane Bohli and Marco Chiudinelli in the tie but it was just the Swiss maestro and Wawrinka who brought a hard-fought victory to their team in the end.
The former tennis legend, Patrick Rafter, captained the Aussie squad and the 59th ranked Bernard Tomic lead his side into the tie against the strong Swiss team. Team Australia also had the expertise of the former world
number one, Lleyton Hewitt, Chris Guccione and Matthew Ebden but the Swiss contestants proved too good for them to contain.
The Aussies were off to a stunning start in the tie, as Tomic outplayed the world number 19, Wawrinka, in the opening singles rubber comprehensively on Friday. Tomic settled the final scores to 4-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, to take Team
Australia one up early in the competition but Federer pay backed in the next singles rubber against Hewitt. The Swiss maestro went through some tough time before finally taking down the former world number one in four sets 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-2, 6-3, to level the
tie at 1-1.
Guccione and Hewitt teamed up to face Federer and Wawrinka in the doubles contest on the next day. The Aussies won the doubles encounter to break into a 2-1 lead but Federer again rescued his side by defeating Tomic in the third
singles rubber of the competition 6-2, 7-5, 3-6, 6-3.
It all came down to the singles rubber between Wawrinka and Hewitt, with scores tied at 2-2. The Swiss came up to the occasion and after a four hours’ marathon battle with the resilient Aussie, Wawrinka brought victory to his side
at 4-6, 6-4, 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3.
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