Intro:

Roger Federer beat Richard Gasquet in straight sets on Sunday (23rd November) to steer Switzerland to a their first ever Davis Cup success as they take an unassailable 3-1 lead.

Script:

Richard Gasquet of France replaced Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the crucial opening reverse singles tie in the Davis Cup final in Lille on Sunday.

With the Swiss leading the best-of-five final 2-1, Gasquet was faced with the daunting challenge of having to beat Roger Federer to give France any chance of claiming the title.

Their previous head to head record didn't make for pleasant reading for French fans, with Gasquet having won only two of their previous 14 meetings.

Buoyed by playing his part in the Swiss doubles victory on Saturday (22nd November) and showing no signs of the back injury that has hampered him of late, Federer made a blistering start.

A superb string of points saw him break Gasquet in just the third game of the opening set, to lay down an early marker of intent.

To his credit, Gasquet held firm and pulled to 5-3, forcing Federer to close the first set out on his own serve.

The Swiss player did in fact hold the Frenchman to love with a clinical forehand seeing him take the set 6-4.

He pushed on from there, breaking Gasquet in the opening game of the second set to ensure that he was always in the ascendancy.

The Frenchman was unable to force his way back into contention in that set, surrendering another break and eventually losing the set 6-2.

Gasquet fought bravely as the third set got underway, putting Federer under significant pressure for the first time in the match when leading 2-1.

The 17 time Grand Slam champion eventually held serve to leave the set poised at 2-2 before reeling off four straight games to close out an emphatic 6-4 6-2 6-2 win for Switzerland to capture the Davis Cup for the first time in the country's history.

Perhaps an even more historic moment for Federer as he finally won the one major trophy missing from his incredible career.