- .Footage shows Stan Wawrinka's on-court row with Roger Federer's wife
- .While preparing to receive Federer's serve, Wawrinka becomes unsettled
- .Wawrinka was angry about comments made by Mirka Federer
- .She reportedly calls Wawrinka a 'cry baby' before a crucial point
- .Federer argued with Wawrinka backstage after their semi-final
- .The pair had a 10-minute row in a room which was being used as a gym
- .The Swiss duo will represent their country in the Davis Cup final this week
- .They posed for a photo on Monday, with Federer playing down the spat
- .Click here to read about the dynamics of Roger's marriage with Mirka
Video has emerged of the moment Stan Wawrinka has an on-court row with Roger Federer's wife - believed to be prompted by her calling him a 'cry baby'.
It comes after the revelations that Federer and Wawrinka had a furious 10-minute row in a private room backstage at the O2 Arena after Saturday's Barclays ATP World Finals semi-final match.
They were both determinedly putting on a united front for the Swiss Davis Cup team – just as the moment that caused their weekend fallout in London appeared to be identified.
Roger Federer is about to serve before his compatriot Stan Wawrinka looks to the sidelines at the O2 Arena
Warwinka then points to the side of the court, and says: 'Not just before the serve', before pacing on the spot
Umpire Cedric Mourier gestures and attempts to calm Wawrinka down by saying 'No, Stan, no'
After Mourier attempts to calm Wawrinka, he continues pacing and pointing towards the sideline
With the match at a crucial stage, Wawrinka halts as Federer is about to serve
Footage from their tense semi-final shows an angry Wawrinka pulling away from receiving serve at 5-5 and deuce in the third set, because of something off-putting he has heard.
It comes from the direction of where Federer’s wife Mirka was sitting, with the words ‘cry baby’ seemingly uttered.
This tallies with what well-placed tournament sources said occurred and which has also been reported in French sports daily L’Equipe.
The sequence of events at that point shows Wawrinka glancing to the courtside supporters’ bench as Federer prepares to serve.
He then pulls away from receiving the serve, turns to his right and with his racket pointing there says: 'Not just before the serve.'
Federer's wife Mirka is alleged to have called Wawrinka a 'cry baby' before the point was played
Team-mates Federer (centre) and Wawrinka (second right) posed for a photo on Monday night
Wawrinka trained in Lille ahead of next weekend's Davis Cup final, where he will play alongside Federer
He is admonishing someone – apparently Mirka - for talking too loudly as he gathers his concentration. It does not appear to be the first time he has been distracted.
A woman’s voice then can just about be made to call out ‘cry baby’ in response.
The flustered umpire Cedric Mourier leaps in at this point, sensing the danger of the situation running out of control.
'You hear what she say?' says Wawrinka down the court in the direction of the umpire’s chair and Federer.
Mourier’s imploring calls of 'No, Stan, no' seems to calm matters, and he settles back down to receive serve again with one last look to his right.
While both he and Mirka are multi-lingual it is likely they would communicate in English as French is his first language, and she comes from the Swiss-German speaking part of the country, having first emigrated from Slovakia.
For a seasoned professional like Wawrinka to react to goading from any old member of the crowd is extremely unlikely, and the direction of what he is saying shows he is talking to someone at ground level.
The commentary of Mirka, as ever doing whatever she can to support her husband, was a big factor in the enormous spat that followed between the two men after the match (which Federer won). Tour officials ushered them into a room that had been set up as a gym to sort out their differences.
Wawrinka, arriving in Lille, will be key if Federer is to pick up the last title on his bucket list
Wawrinka (left) and Federer pose together before their ATP World Tour Finals semi-final at the O2
They travelled separately to Lille on Monday, Federer taking his private jet and Wawrinka the Eurostar.
However, Federer posted a picture of the team with their arms around each other, including him and Saturday’s opponent.
Federer tweeted 'It's great being with the boys again', alongside a picture with Wawrinka and the rest of his Swiss team-mates.
And the Swiss No 2 tweeted the same picture just minutes later, in what looks like an attempt to smooth over the dispute.
Federer won Saturday's match 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 at the O2 in London, but his victory has been overshadowed by the fallout.
Tour officials decided that the best thing was to push them alone into a private room that had been converted into a gym area, as there is no communal locker room at the arena.
Wawrinka was left unhappy after overhearing comments from Federer's wife Mirka on Saturday night
Federer (second left) poses with his first Wimbledon trophy in 2003 alongside then-girlfriend Mirka (right)
While the dispute is not believed to have become physical, a heated 10-minute row ensued in which both aired their grievances against the other.
In what had been an unusually feisty and high quality semi-final, Wawrinka had four match points and served for the match at 5-4.
According to French television, Wawrinka was picked up saying: 'She did the same thing at Wimbledon.'
Federer and Wawrinka have traditionally got on well together, and of course it is not unusual in sport for things to happen in the heat of the moment and then to be smoothed over with the passage of time.
And now they know they face a race against time to prepare for the Davis Cup final, something Federer has never won and which he desperately wants to add to his collection.
As they will be up against a fresh French team, playing in front of 30,000 supporters in a football stadium with accompanying atmosphere, and having to make the transition from indoor hard court to clay, there is plenty stacked against them. Their only hope is to have a united front, given the circumstances.
VIDEO Wawrinka rues missed opportunities
Mirka and Roger, who first met in 2000 and married in 2009, have two sets of twins together
Wawrinka (left) and Federer hug after their ATP World Tour Finals semi-final at the O2 Arena in London
Federer, pictured during his semi-final win against Wawrinka, cited a back injury as his reason for pulling out
John McEnroe spoke of the dispute on American television, but he seemed unaware of the extent to which it has escalated, according to those Sportsmail has spoken to.
Another cause of tension in matches between the two is said to be the presence in Federer's box of Swiss Davis Cup captain Severin Luthi, who coaches the world No 2 along with Stefan Edberg.
Although doing his best to stay impartial in these encounters, it is not hard to see why Wawrinka might resent his team competition captain siding with his rival when it comes to their head-to-head combat.
Ultimately the Swiss No 2 was unable to finish the job off and was denied a place in the final of the prestigious year-end championships, with well-placed sources saying he was furious at the intervention of Mirka.
While the undoubted row between the two men is a distraction, it was not the main cause of Federer pulling out of Sunday night's final, although the tension it caused is unlikely to have helped.
The Swiss master, drained by the physically and mentally exhausting match against Wawrinka, sustained a pull in his back and clearly did not wish to risk it ahead of the Davis Cup final.
Federer usually manages to avoid controversy and his wife says little in public, despite playing a major role in her 33 year-old husband's phenomenal career.
Mirka watches her husband in action at Wimbledon in 2012 with twin daughters Myla Rose and Charlene Riva
Those who know her speak of someone quietly formidable and determined who behind the scenes helps organise the incredibly busy life of her spouse, with whom she now has two sets of twins.
A former player herself, when she was known as Miroslava Vavrinec, she reached a career-high singles ranking of 76 and met the soon-to-be superstar at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. However, she had to retire from the sport with a persistent foot injury and has since channelled her energies into helping her husband become the global icon that he now is.
Aside from maintaining his fitness and training regime and having four young children, Federer also has a large portfolio of sponsorships and has his own personal charitable foundation that he attends to.
Mirka, who married him in 2009, is said to be a key component in making his life run like a Swiss clock to keep the success going.
She is also known to have steely side, and it seems that is what has led to the fallout with Wawrinka that could be a threat to Switzerland's Davis Cup dreams.
ROGER FEDERER DOESN'T WEAR THE TROUSERS IN HIS HOUSE...
With the shock revelation that Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka had a furious bust-up following their ATP Tour Finals clash, Sportsmail examines the role Federer’s wife Mirka played in the fallout at the London event and finds out who really holds the power behind Roger’s throne...
After the birth of his second set of twins this summer, Roger Federer faced a question similar to that of any newly-besotted father — when should he go back to work?
The prestigious Italian Open was soon to start and he was scheduled to be there, so he consulted with his family, and above all wife Mirka, about what to do. It did not sound like a long conversation.
A few days later in Rome, a happy and smiling Federer recalled in jesting fashion: ‘They said I should quickly come and play here. I said “Well, if you don’t want me around I’ll go away”.’
This response from Mrs Federer was not unexpected, for she has always been driven in her support of her husband’s career and, as a former player herself, fully understands that the business of tennis has to come first for now.
Mirka watches Federer in action at Wimbledon in 2012 with the pair's twin daughters Myla and Charlene
Perhaps more surprising was that Mirka had got herself to Paris a fortnight later, along with their four children, in order to be in the stands for his opening match at the French Open.
It must have been quite a logistical effort with new twins Leo and Lenny just three weeks old, but then their lives are famously well organised.
And Mirka is renowned for the steely back-up she provides for world-famous Roger.
Just how unbending that support can be was illustrated on Saturday night in London, when she apparently upset his friend and opponent Stan Wawrinka with some well-chosen words.
It cannot always be easy to be married to a sporting phenomenon like Federer, who transcends tennis and has become as much its global ambassador as its most decorated player.
He wields enormous power in the game and has an almost presidential status. That being the case, his wife might be akin to the First Lady.
Beyond the cliche of every successful man having a strong woman behind them, there is no question that Mirka Federer has played a considerable part in the achievements of her extraordinarily talented spouse.
Federer, pictured with Mirka at the Laureus World Sports Awards, says his wife has seen over 900 matches
Nobody who knows them well would tell you otherwise.
‘Not much gets past Mirka,’ is how one confidant put it in assessing her influence. In most individual sports there is usually at least one family figure who has been disproportionately responsible for the success of an athlete — most often a parent — and particularly in tennis.
Federer’s father Robbie and mother Lynette have, however, been among the more relaxed of the breed and for most of his adult career it has been Mirka, 36, who has been a key force. Critical to their successful and happy partnership has been her understanding and ambition, which derives itself from her own experiences as a professional whose career was cut short.
As Miroslava Vavrinec, Mirka emigrated with her parents from Slovakia to Switzerland at the age of two and her interest in tennis was fired by meeting Martina Navratilova at a tournament seven years later.
She went on to become a decent player, reaching No 76 in the world. The Swiss writer Rene Stauffer, author of Federer’s biography, illustrated her innate determination by relating how, as a junior, she once journeyed through civil war-riven Croatia just to play a tournament.
Mirka is an ever-present at the Swiss star's games, and shows the strain on day three at Wimbledon in 2013
Most significantly for her life, it took her to the Sydney Olympics in 2000, where she met the 20-year-old Federer. Her career was not to flourish as his did and within two years she retired with a persistent foot injury. From then on she dedicated herself to her boyfriend’s career, starting as his public relations conduit but then becoming indispensable in all areas.
In 2009 they married and she gave birth to their first set of twins, Charlene and Myla. These days she rarely speaks publicly but is very visible in Roger’s support box and behind the scenes, where she is seen as a quietly formidable figure.
In a rare interview with Swiss magazine Schweizer Illustrierte, she emphasised the value of her own tennis knowledge, saying, ‘That’s why we get along so perfectly. No other woman could deal with so much tennis. If he wants to sleep long I definitely won’t wake him by getting up early.’
However, she clearly expects to come into her own when Federer’s body can no longer take the grind of the circuit.
Mirka emigrated with her parents from Slovakia to Switzerland at the age of two
Referring to his lofty status as a player she said: ‘You are that only once in your life. My time is still coming. After the tennis. We have discussed this.’
For now she serves as a multi-tasker extraordinaire, gatekeeper to her massively in-demand husband as well as his emotional and practical support.
She also has major input into his ‘look’ and fashion adventures, a few of which have backfired. It is said she even supervises the way he has his hair cut.
Federer has often said how grateful he is to her for providing the stability and family happiness that is his inspiration.
The spat with Wawrinka is an exception to the smooth running of their lives. The verbals from courtside perhaps tell of something she has in common with her husband: underneath it all lies a supreme competitor.
By Mike Dickson
Federer and Mirka, pictured at Doha airport in January 2006, met at the 2000 Sydney Olympics
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