World No. 1 Roger Federer will take on Thiemo de Bakker in the opening singles rubber in the Davis Cup on Friday. Federer will be looking forward to keep Switzerland in the Davis Cup World Group.

The Swiss genius will be playing his first match since falling to Tomas Berdych at US Open quarter-finals. Federer has been enjoying a tremendous run in the ongoing season. After lingering at No. 2 and No. 3 position in the last two years, Federer bounced back brilliantly on tour this season and went on to reclaim his No. 1 Ranking. The Swiss has a brilliant 59-8 win-loss record for the season so far and has claimed six titles in 2012 – including Wimbledon.

When asked about the challenge in switching surfaces, Federer said, “Obviously we’ve been on faster courts for some time now. Now we’re looking at a very slow clay court, outdoors, potentially in cold conditions. It’s a matter of getting through and not losing, me being the overwhelming favorite in most of the matches. That’s my focus. Right now, improving or trying out stuff is not going to be the case.” Federer helped his country to retain place in the World Group stage last season, but Switzerland lost to USA 0-5 at home in the opening round this season. Now, his first priority would be to get his country back in the World Group Stage.

Federer’s opponent Thiemo de Bakker is currently ranked as 159 in the ATP Rankings. He has not played much on tour this season and has a poor 2-2 win-loss record. This will be a first meeting between these two and Federer is crushing favorite here.