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 The 17-times grand slam champion, beaten by Novak Djokovic in the
U.S. Open final a week ago, recovered after losing Saturday's
doubles with Marco Chiudinelli to give the Swiss a decisive 3-1 lead
and secure their World Group spot.
Switzerland, winners last year, were beaten by Belgium in the
opening round in March when neither Federer nor Stan Wawrinka lined
up for the Swiss.
Federer, however, could well decide to miss next year's Davis Cup.
"My idea was never to win it twice, the idea was always to win it
once and we did that in front of a record crowd, which was a great
moment for us all," Federer told the Davis Cup website
(www.daviscup.com).
"I see this tie in isolation. Next year is an Olympic year. The
summer will be very long and packed with highlights. It's all a
question of priorities. I can't play everything and of course if I
do play Davis Cup other things have to drop out."
In other playoff ties, the Czech Republic clinched a 3-1 victory
against India in New Delhi, while the United States secured a
winning 3-1 lead in Uzbekistan thanks to victory for Jack Sock
against Denis Istomin.
Fabio Fognini led Italy against Russia in Irkutsk, beating Teymuraz
Gabashvili in Sunday's first reverse singles as Italy eventually
triumphed 4-1.
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It proved to be a fantastic weekend for Fognini who won his singles
match on Friday before helping Simone Bolelli to win Saturday's
doubles encounter.
Croatia guaranteed their place in the World Group with a 3-1 win in
Florianopolis when Brazilian Thomas Bellucci retired in the fourth
set against 18-year-old Borna Coric.
Bellucci was two sets to one down and losing 4-0 in the fourth set
when he withdrew with back pains.
He had beaten Mate Delic to give Brazil a 1-0 lead on Friday but
Coric beat Joao Souza in the second singles rubber and Croatia edged
ahead in winning Saturday's doubles.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman in London; editing by Clare Fallon and
Pritha Sarkar)
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