Roger Federer takes Switzerland into the Davis Cup final

Federer secured the winning point in his singles match against Fabio Fognini to give Switzerland an unbeatable 3-1 lead over Italy in Geneva.The 17-time grand slam winner was never seriously troubled by Fognini, winning 6-2 6-3 7-6 in front of 18,000 fans in the Palexpo Arena.A run of four straight games saw him take the opening set and a single break in the second was enough to forge further ahead.Fognini had four break point chances in the third set but could not take advantage and Federer moved clear in the closing tiebreak.The 33-year-old will be playing in his first Davis Cup final and paid tribute to the fervent supporters who willed him on to victory."Its nice sharing your emotions with your fans and team mates," he told the official Davis Cup website.Swiss captain Severin Luthi also reflected on their triumph. "For the whole of Switzerland it's great we're in the finals now. We couldn't be happier," he said."Roger didn't have that much time to get used to the court and conditions and there is a lot of pressure involved. For me he played again fantastic tennis."Federer and Australian Open champion Stanislas Wawrinka won their opening singles rubbers Friday but the Italians hit back the following day as Fognini and Simone Bolleli took the doubles to give themselves a glimmer of hope heading into the reverse singles.Switzerland will have to travel to France for the final on November 21-23, with the venue still to be announced.France sealed its passage Saturday when the doubles team of Richard Gasquet and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga defeated Czechs Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek in four sets to go 3-0 ahead.Sunday's reverse singles saw Jiri Vesely beat Julien Benneteau 6-4 6-3 to put the first point on the board for the Czechs before Gael Monfils beat Lukas Rosol 5-7 6-4 7-5 in the second of the "dead" rubbers.France is seeking a first Davis Cup triumph since 2001. Switzerland has never won the trophy, losing the 1992 final to the United States.(CNN)Bakudaily.Az