Tears of joy from Roger Federer as Switzerland win Davis Cup

More tears then for the Swiss but tears of joy this time, not recrimination – for Roger Federer, his proud and small country as well as tennis – on a historic afternoon in a sealed-off arena at one end of a football stadium in the lowlands of northern France.

The men from the mountains won their first Davis Cup, at the 85th attempt, and fittingly the best player they or the game has had produced victory, beating poor Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 in an hour and 52 minutes to bring the final to an early 3-1 finish in the fourth rubber.

“I didn’t need this to tick off the boxes,” said Federer, wiping away the tears, after adding the game’s most illustrious team trophy to his 17 majors and all the other garlands he has collected over 16 years. “I’m happy I was able to stay calm; this one was for the boys.”

He hugged his friend Stanislas Wawrinka – long recovered from taunts of “Cry baby” by Roger’s wife, Mirka, in London eight days ago – along with their captain, Severin Lüthi, and the squad members who were not needed, Marco Chiudinelli and Michael Lammer.

The spluttering rancour between Federer and Wawrinka was a distant memory as they celebrated their achievement with champagne and no little laughter.

“It’s been a long week,” Federer reflected, admitting he doubted as late as Wednesday if he could play three days in a row, given the uncertainty about the back injury that forced him to withdraw from the final of the ATP World Tour Finals against Novak Djokovic only a week ago. “But [it has been] one of the best weeks we’ve had as a team. We really had a good time all together.”

Wawrinka, who won his singles on day one against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and teamed up with Federer to take the doubles on Saturday, concurred: “It’s an amazing feeling, the best.”

For the French – for whom Gaël Monfils won their only point, against Federer – the experience was painful, with their most enigmatic star, Gasquet, the unfortunate whipping boy.

Gasquet lives in Neuchâtel, a couple of hours’ drive from Federer’s Swiss sanctuary in Wollerau, but the distance between them on the tennis court has grown since the teenager shocked the nonpareil the first time they met, one electric afternoon in Monte Carlo nine years ago.

He is 28 now, seasoned but more fragile. He nonetheless started with encouraging solidity as they traded gorgeous single-handed backhands at increasingly acute angles, daring each other to go for the lines. Federer broke early, threading a sublime forehand down the line.

Serial disappointment and the weight of expectation have drained Gasquet’s combative instincts, although pride sustained him here. After an hour he was a set and a break down with no evidence of a turning tide but the roar of the crowd did not dim; whether or not he shared their faith was impossible to tell, although he rose from his stool for the fifth game of the second set with enough sweat dripping from his brow to suggest he was giving his all.

Federer kept up a rhythm of relaxed menace, with nearly every touch fruitful, either at the net or off the ground. Gasquet had taken only seven sets off him out of the 33 they had played since 2005 and had not done so since 2011 in Rome, the last of his two victories in 12 matches. He needed one now, if only for a sliver of self-belief in his own gifts. It did not come.

Federer was not in the mood for mercy; if they had thrown on Tsonga to help out Gasquet, he would still have won. Gasquet had to save four break points to hold at the start of the third and from there until the end it was tough to watch.

With Gasquet spiritually shredded and standing helpless on the baseline, Federer dinked the ball with exquisite touch just over the net, his 62nd winner of the afternoon, and history was sealed. He then fell to the clay and blubbed like, well, a cry baby.