Stan Wawrinka gets Switzerland started but Gael Monfils evens it up

Gael Monfils stunned Roger Federer in straight sets to leave France and Switzerland level 1-1 after the first day of the Davis Cup final in Lille on Friday.

The flamboyant Frenchman overpowered a below-par Federer 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 in just one hour, 46 minutes.

It was just the second time that Federer had lost a Davis Cup singles rubber in straight sets, the other coming in his 1999 debut against Gianluca Pozzi of Italy.

Earlier, Stan Wawrinka gave the Swiss favourites a 1-0 lead by outplaying French No 1 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Federer took a 8-2 head-to head record against Monfils into the rubber.

His preparations for his first Davis Cup final took a hit last Saturday when he injured his back while playing against Wawrinka in the last four of the ATP World Tour finals in London.

He subsequently pulled out of the final against Novak Djokovic and was unable to practice on the indoor clay court at Lille football stadium until Wednesday evening. The French had two weeks training on clay in Bordeaux and it showed as Monfils opened with an ace and had Federer on the back foot from the start.

Monfils clinched a surprisingly easy victory with a typically flashy backhand drive down the line from well behind the baseline.

It was the first time that Monfils had beaten Federer on clay and it could not have come at a more opportune moment.

The doubles match today sees the French pair of Julien Benneteau and Richard Gasquet go up against Marco Chiudinelli and Michael Lammer, with the reverse singles on Sunday.

After losing to Wawrinka, Tsonga rued the lack of support from the home crowd.

Despite the presence of a record crowd of 27,432 spectators in the stands of the Pierre Mauroy Stadium, Tsonga said that the visiting fans were showing more support for their players.

“When the teams were introduced, they applauded Stan more than us, Roger [Federer] more than us,” Tsonga said. We heard the Swiss spectators more than we heard the French ones.”

Switzerland have never won a Davis Cup championship, and it remains the most prominent competition Federer has never won.