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Roger Federer Clarified His Comments About Stan Wawrinka After Davis Cup Dispute

Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka once found themselves at the heart of a controversy involving Switzerland's Davis Cup team. Both are the most decorated Swiss players, combining for 23 Grand Slam singles titles.

They also teamed up to win doubles gold at the 2008 Beijing Olympics and helped secure Switzerland’s first Davis Cup title in 2014. Despite their success together, tension arose after Switzerland's 2012 Davis Cup loss.

Mistranslation Sparks Confusion

In 2012, Switzerland hosted the USA, a dominant Davis Cup force with 32 titles. The Swiss faced a tough defeat, losing 5-0. Wawrinka fell to Mardy Fish in five sets, Federer lost to John Isner in four, and their doubles effort ended with a loss to Fish and Mike Bryan.

After the doubles loss, Federer was reported saying, "I played well enough in doubles, but Stanislas not so much," adding that Wawrinka did not have his best singles match and that their failure prevented them from pressuring the U.S. team. Federer later said this was a mistranslation.

"It was taken completely the wrong way, me blaming Stan. I would never do that. It was just an unfortunate weekend," Federer said during the Rotterdam tournament shortly after. "The Americans played very well. I've talked to our captain Severin Luthi and Stan several times to clear up any misunderstandings. The press created something from nothing."

Reaffirming Their Partnership After Victory

The confusion didn’t damage their bond long term. In 2014, they led Switzerland to a historic Davis Cup win over France in Lille. Federer clinched the final point against Richard Gasquet but praised Wawrinka during the post-match press conference.

"It’s Stan who put us in this great position for Sunday," Federer said. "It's been one of the best weeks we’ve had as a team. We all worked well together, many of us have been here nearly a decade. We're really happy to have won it."

Wawrinka returned the praise:

"It’s an amazing feeling. Watching Roger play such great tennis is incredible. I watched from the locker room because I needed to be ready if the last match was mine. Roger killed it today. It was a great moment for all of us."

Switzerland's Davis Cup Journey in 2014

  • First Round: Switzerland beat Serbia, 3-2
  • Quarter-final: Switzerland beat Serbia, 3-2
  • Semi-final: Switzerland beat Italy, 3-2
  • Final: Switzerland beat France, 3-1

Since that victory, Switzerland has struggled in the Davis Cup, failing to reach any quarter-finals in the following 12 years.

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