Davis Cup

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The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. The largest annual team competition in sport^{[citation needed]}, the Davis Cup is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. In 2005, 134 nations entered teams into the competition.

Countries aspire to compete in the elite World Group of 16 nations which comprises four rounds of competition spread over four weekends during the year. Each World Group 'tie' between two competing nations consists of 5 matches (known as 'rubbers') carried out over the course of three days, usually Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. On the Friday, the first two matches are singles, generally between the two best available players of each country. A doubles match is played on the second day. On the third day, the final two matches are typically reverse singles in which the first-day contestants traditionally play again, but swap opponents from the first day's singles matches. If the tie has already been decided in favour of one of the teams, it is common for younger lower-ranked team members to play the remaining 'dead-rubbers' in order for them to gain Davis Cup experience.

The captain of each nation is able to nominate a squad of four players for each tie and he decides which of these players will compete in the first three rubbers. On the Thursday before play starts schedule of play is randomly drawn to decide the pairings of the nominated singles players in the first two rubbers. In the past, teams could only substitute final day singles players when the result of the tie had already been determined, but nowadays the rules allow teams to select any playing team member to play the last two singles matches provided that first day matchups are not repeated. There is no restriction on which of the playing team members plays the doubles match: the two singles players, two other players (usually doubles specialists) or a combination.

All rubbers are normally best-of-5 sets with the 4 first sets being using tiebreak, if a 5th set is played its long (as example 8-6). If a team has clinched the rubber before all 5 matches are played, any remaining reverse singles matches are shortened to best-of-3 sets. In the lower divisions usually best-of-3 sets are played.

The women's equivalent of the Davis Cup is the Fed Cup (known as the Federation Cup before 1995).

Contents 1 History 2 Davis Cup winners 3 Recent finals 4 Current Rankings 5 See also 6 External link

[edit] History

The tournament was conceived in 1899 by four members of the Harvard University tennis team who came up with the idea of challenging the British to a tennis showdown. Once the idea received the go ahead from the respective lawn tennis associations, one of the four Harvard players, Dwight F. Davis, designed a tournament format and spent the money from his own pocket to purchase an appropriate sterling silver trophy from Shreve, Crump & Low. The first match, between the United States and Great Britain was held in Boston, Massachusetts in 1900. The American team, of which Dwight Davis was a part, surprised the British by winning the first three matches. The following year the two countries did not compete but the US won the next match in 1902. By 1905 the tournament expanded to include Belgium, Austria, France, and Australasia, a combined team from Australia and New Zealand that competed together until 1913.

The tournament was initially known as the International Lawn Tennis Challenge. It was renamed the Davis Cup following the death of Dwight Davis in 1945. Dwight Davis also became a prominent politician in the United States in the 1920s, serving as Secretary of War from 1925-29 and as Governor General of the Philippines from 1929-32.

From 1950 to 1967, the Australian Davis Cup Team dominated the competition, winning the Cup 15 times in 18 years.

Since inception, the US Davis Cup Team has won the event the most times (31), followed by Australia (24 [28 including Australasia]), France and Great Britain (9 each)[Includes British Isles 5], Sweden (7), and Australasia (4).

Up to 1973, the Davis Cup had only ever been won by the U.S.A., Great Britain, France and Australia/Australasia. Their domination was broken in 1974, when South Africa and India qualified for the final. India refused to play in the final that year in protest against the South African government's apartheid policies, thus handing South Africa a walk-over victory (as of 2006, South Africa has never actually played a single Davis Cup finals match). The very next year saw the first final played between two "outsider" nations, with Sweden beating Czechoslovakia 3-2, and since then, several other countries have gone on to capture the trophy.

On the 100th anniversary of the tournament's founding, 129 nations competed for the Davis Cup.

[edit] Davis Cup winners

Year	Finals Venue	Champion	Score	Runner-up
1900	Boston, United States	United States	3-0	Great Britain
1902	Brooklyn, United States	United States	3-2	Great Britain
1903	Boston, United States	Great Britain	4-1	United States
1904	London, England	Great Britain	5-0	Belgium
1905	London, England	Great Britain	5-0	United States
1906	London, England	Great Britain	5-0	United States
1907	London, England	Australasia	3-2	Great Britain
1908	Melbourne, Australia	Australasia	3-2	United States
1909	Sydney, Australia	Australasia	5-0	United States
1911	Christchurch, New Zealand	Australasia	4-0	United States
1912	Melbourne, Australia	Great Britain	3-2	Australasia
1913	London, England	United States	3-2	Great Britain
1914	New York City, United States	Australia	3-2	United States
1919	Sydney, Australia	Australia	4-1	Great Britain
1920	Auckland, New Zealand	United States	5-0	Australia
1921	New York City, United States	United States	5-0	Japan
1922	New York City, United States	United States	4-1	Australia
1923	New York City, United States	United States	4-1	Australia
1924	Philadelphia, United States	United States	5-0	Australia
1925	Philadelphia, United States	United States	5-0	France
1926	Philadelphia, United States	United States	4-1	France
1927	Philadelphia, United States	France	3-2	United States
1928	Paris, France	France	4-1	United States
1929	Paris, France	France	3-2	United States
1930	Paris, France	France	4-1	United States
1931	Paris, France	France	3-2	Great Britain
1932	Paris, France	France	3-2	United States
1933	Paris, France	Great Britain	3-2	France
1934	London, England	Great Britain	4-1	United States
1935	London, England	Great Britain	5-0	United States
1936	London, England	Great Britain	3-2	Australia
1937	London, England	United States	4-1	Great Britain
1938	Philadelphia, United States	United States	3-2	Australia
1939	Haverford, United States	Australia	3-2	United States
1946	Melbourne, Australia	United States	5-0	Australia
1947	New York City, United States	United States	4-1	Australia
1948	New York City, United States	United States	5-0	Australia
1949	New York City, United States	United States	4-1	Australia
1950	New York City, United States	Australia	4-1	United States
1951	Sydney, Australia	Australia	3-2	United States
1952	Adelaide, Australia	Australia	4-1	United States
1953	Melbourne, Australia	Australia	3-2	United States
1954	Sydney, Australia	United States	3-2	Australia
1955	New York City, United States	Australia	5-0	United States
1956	Adelaide, Australia	Australia	5-0	United States
1957	Melbourne, Australia	Australia	3-2	United States
1958	Brisbane, Australia	United States	3-2	Australia
1959	New York City, United States	Australia	3-2	United States
1960	Sydney, Australia	Australia	4-1	Italy
1961	Melbourne, Australia	Australia	5-0	Italy
1962	Brisbane, Australia	Australia	5-0	Mexico
1963	Adelaide, Australia	United States	3-2	Australia
1964	Cleveland, United States	Australia	3-2	United States
1965	Sydney, Australia	Australia	4-1	Spain
1966	Melbourne, Australia	Australia	4-1	India
1967	Brisbane, Australia	Australia	4-1	Spain
1968	Adelaide, Australia	United States	4-1	Australia
1969	Cleveland, United States	United States	5-0	Romania
1970	Cleveland, United States	United States	5-0	West Germany
1971	Charlotte, United States	United States	3-2	Romania
1972	Bucharest, Romania	United States	3-2	Romania
1973	Cleveland, United States	Australia	5-0	United States
1974		South Africa	w/o	India
1975	Stockholm, Sweden	Sweden	3-2	Czechoslovakia
1976	Santiago, Chile	Italy	4-1	Chile
1977	Sydney, Australia	Australia	3-1	Italy
1978	Rancho Mirage, United States	United States	4-1	Great Britain
1979	San Francisco, United States	United States	5-0	Italy
1980	Prague, Czechoslovakia	Czechoslovakia	4-1	Italy
1981	Cincinnati, United States	United States	3-1	Argentina
1982	Grenoble, France	United States	4-1	France
1983	Melbourne, Australia	Australia	3-2	Sweden
1984	Gothenburg, Sweden	Sweden	4-1	United States
1985	Munich, West Germany	Sweden	3-2	West Germany
1986	Melbourne, Australia	Australia	3-2	Sweden
1987	Gothenburg, Sweden	Sweden	5-0	India
1988	Gothenburg, Sweden	West Germany	4-1	Sweden
1989	Stuttgart, West Germany	West Germany	4-1	Sweden
1990	St. Petersburg, United States	United States	3-2	Australia
1991	Lyon, France	France	3-2	United States
1992	Fort Worth, United States	United States	3-1	Switzerland
1993	Dusseldorf, Germany	Germany	4-1	Australia
1994	Moscow, Russia	Sweden	4-1	Russia
1995	Moscow, Russia	United States	3-2	Russia
1996	Malmö, Sweden	France	3-2	Sweden
1997	Gothenburg, Sweden	Sweden	5-0	United States
1998	Milan, Italia	Sweden	4-1	Italy
1999	Nice, France	Australia	3-2	France
2000	Barcelona, Spain	Spain	3-1	Australia
2001	Melbourne, Australia	France	3-2	Australia
2002	Paris, France	Russia	3-2	France
2003	Melbourne, Australia	Australia	3-1	Spain
2004	Seville, Spain	Spain	3-2	United States
2005	Bratislava, Slovakia	Croatia	3-2	Slovakia
2006	Moscow, Russia	Russia	3-2	Argentina
2007

Country	Years Won	Runners Up
USA	1900, 1902, 1913, 1920, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1937, 1938, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1990, 1992, 1995 (31)	1903, 1905, 1906, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1914, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1932, 1934, 1935, 1939, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1964, 1973, 1991, 1997, 2004 (28)
Australia/ Australasia	1907, 1908, 1909, 1911, 1914, 1919, 1939, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1973, 1977, 1983, 1986, 1999, 2003 (28)	1912, 1920, 1922, 1923, 1924, 1936, 1938, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1954, 1958, 1963, 1990, 1993, 2000, 2001 (18)
Great Britain	1903, 1904, 1905, 1906, 1912, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1936, (9)	1900, 1902, 1907, 1913, 1919, 1931, 1937, 1978 (8)
France	1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1991, 1996, 2001 (9)	1925, 1926, 1933, 1982, 1999, 2002 (6)
Sweden	1975, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1994, 1997, 1998 (7)	1983, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1996 (5)
Germany	1988, 1989, 1993 (3)	1970, 1985 (2)
Spain	2000, 2004 (2)	1965, 1967, 2003 (3)
Russia	2002, 2006 (2)	1994, 1995 (2)
Italy	1976 (1)	1960, 1961, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1998 (6)
Czechoslovakia	1980 (1)	1975 (1)
Croatia	2005 (1)	(0)
South Africa	1974 (1)	(0)
India	(0)	1966, 1974, 1987 (3)
Romania	(0)	1969, 1971, 1972 (3)
Argentina	(0)	1981, 2006 (2)
Belgium	(0)	1904 (1)
Chile	(0)	1976 (1)
Japan	(0)	1921 (1)
Mexico	(0)	1962 (1)
Slovakia	(0)	2005 (1)
Switzerland	(0)	1992 (1)

[edit] Recent finals

• 2006 - Russia wins 3-2 over Argentina
  • Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) def. Juan Ignacio Chela (ARG), 6-1, 6-2, 5-7, 6-4
  • David Nalbandian (ARG) def. Marat Safin (RUS), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4
  • Dmitry Tursunov/Marat Safin (RUS) def. Agustín Calleri/David Nalbandian (ARG), 6-2, 6-3, 6-4
  • David Nalbandian (ARG) def Nikolay Davydenko (RUS) 6-2, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4
  • Marat Safin (RUS) def José Acasuso (ARG), 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6(5)

• 2005 - Croatia wins 3-2 over Slovakia
  • Ivan Ljubičić (CRO) def. Karol Kučera (SVK), 6-3, 6-4, 6-3
  • Dominik Hrbatý (SVK) def. Mario Ančić (CRO), 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-7 (4), 6-4
  • Mario Ančić/Ivan Ljubičić (CRO) def. Dominik Hrbatý/Michal Mertinak (SVK), 7-6 (5), 6-3, 7-6 (5)
  • Dominik Hrbatý (SVK) def. Ivan Ljubičić (CRO), 4-6, 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
  • Mario Ančić (CRO) def. Michal Mertinak (SVK), 7-6 (1), 6-3, 6-4

• 2004 - Spain wins 3-2 over the United States
  • Carlos Moyà (ESP) def. Mardy Fish (USA) 6-4, 6-2, 6-3
  • Rafael Nadal (ESP) def. Andy Roddick (USA) 6-7 (6), 6-2, 7-6 (6), 6-2
  • Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan (USA) def. Juan Carlos Ferrero/Tommy Robredo (ESP) 6-0, 6-3, 6-2
  • Carlos Moyà (ESP) def. Andy Roddick (USA) 6-2, 7-6 (1), 7-6 (5)
  • Mardy Fish (USA) def. Tommy Robredo (ESP) 7-6 (8), 6-2

[edit] Current Rankings

Rank	Nation	Points	Previous	Rank	Nation	Points	Previous
1	Russia	27,192.5	[2]	11	Chile	4,022.5	[10]
2	Argentina	21,333.8	[3]	12	Sweden	4,000.0	[14]
3	Croatia	20,545.6	[1]	13	Romania	3,368.8	[13]
4	Spain	15,237.5	[4]	14	Netherlands	3,195.3	[12]
5	Australia	13,750.0	[5]	15	Czech Republic	3,000.0	[17]
6	USA	13,250.0	[6]	16	Belgium	2,956.3	[21]
7	Slovakia	10,251.3	[7]	17	Germany	2,846.9	[16]
8	France	8,125.0	[8]	18	Austria	2,810.0	[15]
9	Belarus	6,698.1	[9]	19	Thailand	2,140.0	[18]
10	Switzerland	4,929.7	[11]	20	Serbia	1,963.8	[19]

[edit] See also

• Davis Cup structure

[edit] External link

• Official Davis Cup website