Hlasek confirms Rosset’s return
Swiss Davis Cup captain Jakob Hlasek has named his final line-up for this weekend's quarter-final clash with France. As expected, Hlasek has chosen Marc Rosset as the team's second singles player, alongside Swiss number one Roger Federer.
“I made my decision on Tuesday evening,” Hlasek said following Thursday’s draw. The Swiss captain insisted that Rosset’s terrible form this season (he has not yet managed to win two matches in a row) had not led him to question the player’s suitability.
“Marc has worked well since his return from (the ATP tournament in ) Key Biscayne,” Hlasek said. “His tennis is there. It’s only a matter of self-belief now.”
Rosset, who once vowed never play in the Davis Cup while Hlasek remained in charge, is now set to make a high-profile return to action in the Neuchatel arena where he made his last appearance for Switzerland two years ago.
On that occasion the tall Genevan overcame Italy’s Gianluca Pozzi to send Switzerland into a 1-0 lead. A similar performance would be more than welcome on Friday when Rosset begins the weekend’s action with a tough-looking match against top French seed Arnaud Clément (ATP 10).
Friday’s second match will see Federer taking on Nicolas Escudé, whose surprise selection in a strong French squad comes at the expense of world number 13, Sébastien Grosjean.
“The choice (of who to drop) was the hardest I have had to make since taking charge of this team,” said French Davis Cup captain Guy Forget on Thursday. “In the end I had to decide which player would do best against Federer. On this surface a player like Grosjean would not have the same strengths as an Escudé, who can win points from short rallies.”
Following Friday’s singles, Federer is set to join up with Lorenzo Manta to dispute Saturday’s doubles rubber with Cedric Pioline and Fabrice Santoro. Sunday’s closing singles matches will see a straight reversal of Friday’s pairings.
Hlasek has chosen George Bastl as the team’s replacement player, favouring the Chicago-born Swiss number four over current number three Michel Kratochvil.
“I kept George in the team,” Hlasek explained, “because I believe he’s capable of coming in on Sunday, if necessary, with the score at 2-2 and contesting a decisive match. He’s already demonstrated that he can do that during our tie with Australia in Zurich last season.”
In terms of world ranking places, Switzerland will clearly be the underdogs for this weekend’s tie. The French side, which blasted Belgium 5-0 in the first round, have two players in Clément and Pioline ranked higher than Federer while all four men on the French team are currently ranked above Rosset.
However, home advantage and the choice of playing surface that accompanies that advantage, could help to even the balance. In Manta, Switzerland also have a highly capable doubles specialist, who has won his last eight Davis Cup doubles rubbers.
Despite both team’s desire to reach the semi-finals, the tie is also expected to be a reasonably good-humoured affair. The players are all well-acquainted with each other, while the two captains are long-term friends.
In addition, eight of the 10 men involved have their homes in Switzerland – the only exceptions are Santoro and the Monte-Carlo-based Rosset.
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