"Hey, where did Roger go?"

Roger Federer’s decision to skip this week’s Davis Cup match in Birmingham, Ala., between the Swiss and U.S. team is like Andy Roddick and James Blake preparing to play the circa ’90s Chicago Bulls only to learn that Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen are out.  Federer’s departure on what would have been essentially a two-man lineup leaves the Swiss with one quality player, No. 17-ranked Stanislas Wawrinka. 

Wawrinka is a threat to win his singles matches against Roddick and Blake — something he will have to do if the Swiss have any chance. He cracked the top 10 last June, and partnered with Federer to win the Olympic Gold in doubles.  He reached two ATP finals last year and also the fourth round at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open. He also has never lost to Roddick or Blake, beating Blake twice on clay, including a five-setter in the French Open in 2005 in which he came back from two sets down.   He also has a 1-0 record against Roddick, although it is not much of indicator because Roddick retired down 0-3 in the first set of the the Italian Open semifinal last year. 

Federer’s most likely sub is Stephane Bohli, a 25-year-old ranked No. 147 who has spent most of his career on the Challenger tour.  His highest rank ever achieved was 126 last September.  Bohli, who is so obscure that ESPN hasn’t bothered to include his photo on his bio page, has played only 15 matches on the ATP, coming in a with a record of 6-9.  He lost in the first round of the Australian Open qualifyings, although in February he beat No. 59 Teimuraz Gabashvili in a Challenger event. His only ATP match in 2009 was a loss to Gaels Monfils in which he retired down 0-1 after losing the first set 6-4.  He has never played Blake or Roddick.

The Swiss also could call on Marco Chiudinelli who is ranked way down in the 400s due to missing 18 months with a knee injury has a suprisingly strong 4-2 Davis Cup record, including impressive wins over Fernando Verdasco and David Ferrer when the Swiss beat the Spanish team on fast carpet in Switzerland in February 2007.  His highest career ranking was 129 in 2005.  He has never played either Blake or Roddick.  He is lifelong friend of Roger Feder, writes Randy Walker on Tennisgrandstand.com. 

In doubles, the Swiss  team most likely will go with Wawrinka and 30-year-old doubles-specialist Yves Allegro who has a 5-5 Davis Cup doubles record, including a lopsided loss with Wawrinka against Belarus last year.  But they will run up against a hot team in the No. 1 Bryan brothers, fresh of wins of the Delray Beach tournament on Sunday and the Australian Open in January.

My prediction?  With a rowdy Alabama crowd behind them, either Blake or Roddick beat Wawrinka on Friday and the U.S. goes on to take the first three matches to clinch with ease.

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