Roger Federer: Davis Cup champion. Who would’ve thought?

The world No. 2 finally got to lift the Davis Cup trophy, after a career rife with ups and downs in the event, this past weekend against France. Federer clinched the tie for Switzerland with a straight-sets win over Richard Gasquet.
Of course, the most prestigious international competition in the men’s game puts the emphasis on team effort, something the Swiss displayed in earnest. The tie got off to a terrific start for the visiting nation as Stan Wawrinka defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in four sets.

But the next rubber raised all types of questions around the tennis world as Federer fell to the flamboyant Gael Monfils in straight sets, sparking concern over whether the all-time great really was fit to play. Federer did say that he started feeling better toward the end of that match, and he was evidently healthy enough to play doubles the next day. It was a gamble by captain Severin Luthi to pair Federer up with Wawrinka to take on Julien Benneteau and Gasquet. It paid off and put Switzerland in the driver’s seat after the 2008 Olympic Gold medalists throttled the Frenchmen. Federer picked up where he left off from there in singles play, and he now finds himself with one of the game’s few prizes previously denied him.

He couldn’t have done it without his friend, though. Wawrinka displayed some grit by winning the first rubber and holding his own on the doubles court. In a year that saw him win his first Grand Slam and Masters 1000 titles, the world No. 4 wrapped up the season much the same way 2014 began:  perfectly, with another prestigious achievement in tow.

There have to be some questions as to why the two, though, weren’t able to get it done in the past, even before Wawrinka’s career year. After all, there has been plenty of recent precedent with two-man teams coming together to take home the title:  from Ivan Ljubicic and Mario Ancic carrying Croatia in 2005 to Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek lifting the Czech Republic to consecutive crowns in 2012-13.

Federer’s unavailability to commit to every tie and Wawrinka’s past inconsistencies, combined with the lack of substantial backup, had kept Switzerland from taking home the Davis Cup. That’s in the past, though, as Federer—and Wawrinka, Michael Lammer, and Marco Chiudinelli—can scratch it off the list of their accomplishments.

Can Switzerland defend in 2015? If the commitment from all parties involved is there again, then there isn’t much reason to believe otherwise. And then, perhaps another moniker can be attributed to Federer: two-time Davis Cup champion.