Roger Federer's Switzerland take on Australia in the Davis Cup this weekend with a place in the 2012 World Group at stake.
The Davis Cup is one of the few major titles in world tennis to elude Roger Federer and it will be fascinating to see whether the Swiss' demeanour towards the competition changes as he approaches the latter part of his career.
Federer has always taken a fairly lackadaisical approach to the Davis Cup over the years, turning out for his country only on an ad-hoc basis and putting it way below the slams in his list of priorities. However with Stanislas Wawrinka (remember the pair won Olympic gold in Beijing), he has a very real chance of making a serious tilt at the title if he chooses.
He certainly seems to be considering the possibility, shrugging off a painful Wimbledon defeat in July to help his country through a small Euro-African Zone tie against Portugal barely a week later and after losing at the US Open he was straight on a long haul flight to Australia for this tie.
Federer will lock horns with old rival Lleyton Hewitt this weekend. The Aussie came from two sets down to inflict a painful five set defeat on the Swiss in the competition eight years ago and Federer will be keen to avenge that. Hewitt's injuries have seen him spend more time on the sidelines than on court these days but the Davis Cup still brings the best out of him and he's a great mentor for the burgeoning young talent of Bernard Tomic.
Tomic performs best on the big stage and he will fancy his chances of upsetting Wawrinka in the opening rubber. However this weekend is still likely to be all about Federer and the great one's presence should see his country through comfortably.
