GENEVA-- Roger Federer overcame some tough early resistance from Simone Bolelli and Stanislas Wawrinka eased past Fabio Fognini as Switzerland raced 2-0 ahead in their Davis Cup semi-final against Italy in Geneva on Friday.
Federer, bidding to add to his substantial collection of honours by steering the Alpine nation to a first Davis Cup triumph, delighted a capacity crowd in the Palexpo Arena with a 7-6(5) 6-4 6-4 victory.
"Margins were small in the first set," Federer said. "In the second set I was finally able to get the break and that broke the deadlock for me a little bit. I was able to play with the lead which is always easier.
"It was quite frustrating at times when the court is pretty quick. We didn't think it was going to be this fast but when you do serve well you really do feel the benefit."
Seventy-sixth ranked Bolelli, who was surprisingly selected for singles duty ahead of Andreas Seppi by virtue of having fewer previous defeats against the 17-times grand slam champion, stuck to his task impressively on the blue indoor court.
He saved two set points in the opening tiebreak but fired a backhand wide on Federer's third, to the relief of his 33-year-old opponent who was far from his fluent best.
World number three Federer finally secured the first service break of the match in the seventh game of the second set and cruised on to the 36th singles victory of his Davis Cup career.
Dominant Wawrinka
Australian Open champion Wawrinka made light work of world number 17 Fognini and despatched the Italian 6-2 6-3 6-2 in one hour 30 minutes.
After struggling to rediscover the early-season form that won him the Australian Open title, Wawrinka has spoken of his desire to win the Davis Cup and he showed his intent by firing 16 aces and 37 winners past Fognini.
The fiery Swiss snatched an early break in the opening set before racing into a 4-1 lead as Fognini had no answer to the world number four's clean hitting.
More crisp and punchy strokes followed over the next two sets as Wawrinka ensured Switzerland took a 2-0 lead into Saturday's doubles.
Switzerland have reached the final once, losing to the U.S. in 1992, while Italy got there in 1998, going down to Sweden.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) throws a pass in the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Maryland. Ravens won 26-6. (Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports.)
BARCELONA-- Holders United States showed no sign of missing their top players as they breezed into the basketball World Cup final with a commanding 96-68 win over Lithuania on Thursday.
The Americans, competing in Spain with a second-string team, will head confidently into Sunday's showdown against either European champions France or upstarts Serbia who clash in the other semi-final on Friday.
The champions had steamrollered into the last four and their athletic outfit, even without top NBA players such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant, enjoyed another largely effortless evening.
"Lithuania are a great basketball country and were more than worthy opponents," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski, one of America's biggest admirers of top European teams, told a news conference.
"We fouled like crazy (in the first half). In the second half we started afresh, we adjusted the defence and it made a huge difference."
The Lithuanians were able to hold their own only in the opening five minutes, when some erratic shooting from the champions allowed the Baltic nation to take a 13-10 lead.
But they had no reply for U.S. domination under the boards as the tournament favourites scored an avalanche of second-chance points from offensive rebounds.
With a 43-35 halftime lead, the U.S. team shored up their defensive leaks after the interval and built a 76-49 advantage in the third quarter, when captain James Harden scored all of his 16 points.
Guard Klay Thompson added as many while playmaker Kyrie Irving led the charge with 18 points and four assists.
Usually a high-scoring team, the Lithuanians nailed only 17 of 56 shots from the field and conceded they were second-best in all departments.
"In the first two quarters we were fairly good but it changed in the second half," said playmaker Adas Juskevicius.
"We lost our rhythm, there were too many turnovers and we lost our way."
Coach Jonas Kazlauskas added: "When you face the USA you can't afford to lose your concentration for a minute. In the first half we were fighting but then the difference got to 20 points and there was nothing we could do."
While Lithuania's bronze-medal game on Saturday against the loser of the France v Serbia semi should be a cracker, the final may well boil down to another one-sided contest after the French stunned much-fancied Spain in the quarterfinals.
Asked to comment on the 24-nation event's biggest shock, Krzyzewski said: "I am not surprised by anything. We didn't know who we would play or whether we would play in the final."
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) throws a pass in the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Maryland. Ravens won 26-6. (Evan Habeeb-USA TODAY Sports.)
BARCELONA-- Holders United States showed no sign of missing their top players as they breezed into the basketball World Cup final with a commanding 96-68 win over Lithuania on Thursday.
The Americans, competing in Spain with a second-string team, will head confidently into Sunday's showdown against either European champions France or upstarts Serbia who clash in the other semi-final on Friday.
The champions had steamrollered into the last four and their athletic outfit, even without top NBA players such as LeBron James and Kevin Durant, enjoyed another largely effortless evening.
"Lithuania are a great basketball country and were more than worthy opponents," U.S. coach Mike Krzyzewski, one of America's biggest admirers of top European teams, told a news conference.
"We fouled like crazy (in the first half). In the second half we started afresh, we adjusted the defence and it made a huge difference."
The Lithuanians were able to hold their own only in the opening five minutes, when some erratic shooting from the champions allowed the Baltic nation to take a 13-10 lead.
But they had no reply for U.S. domination under the boards as the tournament favourites scored an avalanche of second-chance points from offensive rebounds.
With a 43-35 halftime lead, the U.S. team shored up their defensive leaks after the interval and built a 76-49 advantage in the third quarter, when captain James Harden scored all of his 16 points.
Guard Klay Thompson added as many while playmaker Kyrie Irving led the charge with 18 points and four assists.
Usually a high-scoring team, the Lithuanians nailed only 17 of 56 shots from the field and conceded they were second-best in all departments.
"In the first two quarters we were fairly good but it changed in the second half," said playmaker Adas Juskevicius.
"We lost our rhythm, there were too many turnovers and we lost our way."
Coach Jonas Kazlauskas added: "When you face the USA you can't afford to lose your concentration for a minute. In the first half we were fighting but then the difference got to 20 points and there was nothing we could do."
While Lithuania's bronze-medal game on Saturday against the loser of the France v Serbia semi should be a cracker, the final may well boil down to another one-sided contest after the French stunned much-fancied Spain in the quarterfinals.
Asked to comment on the 24-nation event's biggest shock, Krzyzewski said: "I am not surprised by anything. We didn't know who we would play or whether we would play in the final."
