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Roger Federer makes last-minute decision to play Davis Cup vs. Serbia

Roger Federer lost in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Rafael Nadal. (Scott Barbour/Getty Images) Roger Federer will join Stanislas Wawrinka on

Courtney Nguyen

Roger Federer makes last-minute decision to play Davis Cup vs. Serbia
Roger Federer makes last-minute decision to play Davis Cup vs. Serbia /

Roger Federer lost in the semifinals of the Australian Open to Rafael Nadal. (Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

Roger-Federer-16

Roger Federer will join Stanislas Wawrinka on Switzerland's Davis Cup team for this weekend's first-round tie against host Serbia. Federer was not on the original list of nominations, but the news was confirmed by the official Davis Cup Twitter account:

"BREAKING! @rogerfederer will play in the first round of #DavisCup this weekend in Switzerland's tie against Serbia!"

Federer has not played a first-round Davis Cup tie since 2005 and he skipped the tournament in 2013. It's no secret that the competition has never been a top priority for him. Since his first nomination, in 1999, Federer has played 22 ties for Switzerland, holding a 43-15 record overall and 32-7 in singles.

The tie will be played on an indoor hard court in Novi Sad, Federer's most successful surface. Novak Djokovic has no plans to play. If he sticks to that decision, we won't get to see him face Federer in front of his home crowd. That's a shame -- it would have been fun to watch him play Federer in a venue that would be definitively against the Swiss great.

Wawrinka tweeted this on Wednesday:

And Federer followed up with this tweet:

Published
Courtney Nguyen
COURTNEY NGUYEN

Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.

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