Davis Cup Final 2014 Betting: Bank on Federer to lead Swiss to maiden DC triumph

Can this pair team-up to land the Davis Cup for Switzerland?

The last competitive tennis action of the 2014 season takes place this weekend in Lille at the Davis Cup Final between Switzerland and France and for the final time in 2014 Sean Calvert selects the best bets...

The build-up to this contest has been somewhat overshadowed by the supposed spat between Swiss stars Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka after their World Tour Finals clash last week.

For those interested in this tittle-tattle more details can be found here.

Perhaps more pertinent is the condition of Federer's back after he withdrew from the final in London against Novak Djokovic citing a back injury sustained at the end of that Wawrinka clash.

Fed has been practicing in Lille this week and declared himself fit on Thursday to face Gael Monfils in Friday's second singles rubber.

The Swiss have been matched as low as 1.538/15 for the trophy, but are currently 1.875/6 shots to land their first ever Davis Cup in their first final appearance since losing to a strong USA side back in 1992.

And assuming Fed's back holds up they look decent favourites to do so and complete Federer's career haul of trophies against a French side, who, despite home advantage, look in no sort of form at the moment.

The hosts opted for indoor red clay at the Stade Pierre Mauroy in Lille and that might well work in favour of the pivotal player in this weekend's clash - Wawrinka.

I'd be fairly confident that Federer will be fit for this and it's hard to see him losing to the likes of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Monfils or Richard Gasquet on clay, but Wawrinka's level varies so wildly that much depends on which Stan turns up.

We know he can play world class tennis at times, but too often his confidence seems shot and he can go away very quickly in matches if things aren't going his way or he's not feeling it out there.

Playing away from home can only help Wawrinka, who suffers badly from nerves on Swiss soil, and I think it will be in his favour to have the crowd against him rather than with him this weekend.

The opening rubber, which is Wawrinka vs Tsonga, will almost certainly go long, with all of their previous five meetings having gone to a deciding set and Wawrinka also went five against Gasquet at the French Open last year.

On clay I would favour the Swiss number two over a Tsonga who is lacking in match practice, having spent much of the late season struggling with an arm injury and he hasn't beaten a top-25 ranked player since randomly winning in Canada in the summer.

Federer vs Monfils could be survival of the fittest, with Fed not 100 percent and Monfils never fully fit and of late it's been the knee that's been the issue with Lamonf.

Gael's career has been littered with nearly wins over the top players and he should have beaten Federer in New York this summer, but didn't, and heroic failure in highly entertaining matches looks set to be how he will be remembered in years to come.

The doubles will be interesting, with Federer unlikely to be risked on top of two singles rubbers and Tsonga's condition will no doubt dictate if he plays in the doubles.

The French would probably like to play Gasquet and Tsonga, while Marco Chiudinelli and/or Michael Lammer may well get a chance to shine while Fed and Stan take a rest.

Much will depend on fitness in the reverse singles and it is true that the French have much greater strength in depth, with Gasquet, Monfils, Tsonga and Julien Benneteau to call upon, so a bet on the Swiss is a wager on Fed's fitness essentially.

If Federer is unable to play two singles rubbers the French will surely win, but I suspect that Fed made the right call in withdrawing from the London final last week and I expect him to be fit to lead the Swiss to victory.

Recommended Bet
Back Switzerland to win the Davis Cup at 1.875/6