TOULOUSE, France -- Switzerland knocked France out of the Davis Cup quarterfinals on Sunday when Roger Federer destroyed Fabrice Santoro 6-1, 6-0, 6-2 in the first of
the final day's reverse singles matches.
With Switzerland leading 2-1, the tie turned into a nightmare for the 2001 champions and last year's runner-up when its first choice singles player Sebastien Grosjean was ruled out a few minutes before facing Federer because of a leg injury.
Grosjean was duly replaced by Fabrice Santoro who is ranked 51st in the world and was no match for Federer who had won his last eight Davis Cup singles as well as 23 sets in succession in the competition.
"I think my game has improved a lot over the last few months, maybe because I'm training harder," Federer said afterwards.
"It was a perfect weekend. This tie had special meaning for us because France beat us in the quarterfinals last time we met in the Davis Cup two years ago."
The Swiss, who is currently third in the ATP Tour Champions' Race and winner of two tournaments in Marseille and Dubai this year, dictated play throughout the game, winning 90 percent of the points on his first serve.
He clinched the first set 6-1 in 19 minutes, the second to love and the third and the match 6-2 after one hour and 29 minutes on court.
Nicolas Escude salvaged some pride for the hosts when he defeated George Bastl 7-6, 5-7, 7-6 in the last singles match even though the tie was already lost.
Federer beat Escude 6-4, 7-5, 6-2 on Friday and played a leading role in Switzerland's 6-4 3-6 6-3 7-6 doubles victory on Saturday.
Grosjean won the first singles on Friday defeating George Bastl 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 and, as often in Davis Cup games, the doubles proved the critical point of the tie.
Both captains sprang surprises. Forget picked Escude rather than Michael Llodra, Santoro's regular doubles partner, and Marc Rosset decided to turn the role of "non-playing captain" into an active one and to partner Federer.
The Swiss captain's gamble paid off as he proved that, despite being semi-retired, he was still a man for the big occasion. "I think Marc was fantastic," Federer said on Sunday.
"It a real disappointment to leave the competition in this manner," Forget said.
"The defeat will allow us to see our limitations despite our brilliant performances over the last two years and we shall have to motivate ourselves again to get back to our best."
Switzerland will visit Australia for the semifinals in September after the Australians whitewashed Sweden 5-0.
"We'll travel to Australia with a lot of confidence," Federer said.