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 After Stan Wawrinka had given the Swiss a 1-0 lead by beating
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1 3-6 6-3 6-2, Monfils was at his best against
the world number two who has struggled recently with back problems.
Federer missed training this week after being forced to withdraw
from his ATP World Tour Final against Novak Djokovic in London on
Sunday.
"Clearly I did feel that I had not hit and played and moved at all
for five days, and Gael played well," Federer told a news
conference.
"It's not like I couldn't play at all. Those who saw the match saw
that it was a proper match and he was the better player at the end."
Monfils, who had never beaten Federer on clay in four previous
encounters, won five games in a row as he whizzed through the first
set.
 Struggling with his serve, the Swiss was broken again in the third
game of the second set and his French rival showed no sign of
weakening, sending his opponent chasing balls left, right and
center.
It was not game over yet, though, as Federer beat Monfils in five
sets in this year's U.S. Open quarter-finals after dropping the
first two.
BACKHAND WINNER
But this time, roared on by a record 27,432 crowd that were kept
quiet during Tsonga's match, Monfils maintained his grip to break
for a 3-2 lead before finishing off the contest on Federer's serve
with a stunning backhand winner down the line.
"It's hard to say whether he is injured because I'm not necessarily
looking at him," said Monfils. "But if he is here it is because he
thinks he will beat you."
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Switzerland looked as if they were in the driving seat after
Wawrinka's defeat of Tsonga who looked a pale shadow of his normally
aggressive self against the world number four.
"I was confident. I showed him on the court that I was better than
he was," said Wawrinka.
Tsonga agreed with his rival.
"Stan was good today. He played a good match. That's it. There is
nothing to say really," he said.
The doubles will be played on Saturday, with the reverse singles on
Sunday on the clay of the Pierre Mauroy stadium.
France, who last lifted the trophy in 2001, are looking to win the
Davis Cup for the 10th time while Switzerland are seeking their
maiden title.
(Editing by Tony Jimenez)
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