From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Davis Cup
Davis Cup
Davis Cup
Current season or competition:
2011 Davis Cup
Sport Tennis
Founded 1900
No. of teams 16 (World Group)
137 (2007 total)
Country(ies) ITF member nations
Most recent champion(s) Serbia
Davis Cup
The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in
men’s tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Fed- was held at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Mass-
eration (ITF) and is contested between teams of play- achusetts in 1900. The American team, of which Dwight
ers from competing countries in a knock-out format. The Davis was a part, surprised the British by winning the
competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain first three matches. The following year the two countries
and the United States. By 2007, 137 nations entered teams did not compete but the US won the next match in 1902.
into the competition. The most successful countries over By 1905 the tournament expanded to include Belgium,
the history of the tournament are the United States (win- Austria, France, and Australasia, a combined team from
ning 32 tournaments and finishing as runners-up 29 Australia and New Zealand that competed together until
times) and Australia (winning 28 times, including four oc- 1914.
casions with New Zealand under the name ’Australasia’, The tournament was initially titled the International
and finishing as runners-up 19 times). The present cham- Lawn Tennis Challenge although it soon became known as
pion is Serbia who beat France to claim the title. the Davis Cup, after Dwight Davis’ trophy.
From 1950 to 1967, Australia dominated the competi-
tion, winning the Cup 15 times in 18 years.
History The United States has won the event the most times
The tournament was conceived in 1899 by four members (32), closely followed by Australia (28 [including 4 as Aus-
of the Harvard University tennis team who wished to tralasia]), Great Britain (9 [including 5 as the British
challenge the British to a tennis competition. Once their Isles]), France (9) and Sweden (7).
respective lawn tennis associations agreed, one of the Up until 1973, the Davis Cup had only ever been won
four Harvard players, Dwight F. Davis, designed a tourna- by the United States, Great Britain/British Isles, France
ment format and ordered an appropriate sterling silver and Australia/Australasia. Their domination was eventu-
trophy from Shreve, Crump & Low, purchasing it from ally broken in 1974, when South Africa and India quali-
his own funds. They in turn commissioned a classically- fied for the final; however, the final was scratched and
styled design from William B. Durgin’s of Concord, New South Africa was awarded the Davis Cup after India re-
Hampshire, crafted by the Englishman Rowland fused to travel to South Africa for the final in protest of
Rhodes.[1] Davis went on to become a prominent politi- the South African government’s apartheid policies. (As of
cian in the United States in the 1920s, serving as US Sec- 2010, South Africa has never actually played in a Davis
retary of War from 1925–29 and as Governor-General of Cup finals match.) The following year saw the first final
the Philippines from 1929–32. between two "outsider" nations that was actually played;
The first match, between the United States and Bri- Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 3–2, and since then, several
tain (which competed under the name "British Isles"), other countries have gone on to capture the trophy.
1
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Davis Cup
In 1989, the tiebreak was also introduced into Davis Previous tournament structure
Cup competition. The tiebreak is now used in all sets ex-
When competition began in 1900, the Davis Cup compe-
cept for 5th set, which remains an advantage set.
tition was played as a challenge cup. All teams compet-
On the 100th anniversary of the tournament’s found-
ed against one another for the right to face the previ-
ing, 129 nations competed for the Davis Cup.
ous year’s champion in the final round, and the previous
year’s champion (the "defending champion") advanced
Format directly to the current year’s final round.
Beginning in 1923, the world’s teams were split into
two zones: the "America Zone" and the "Europe Zone".
The winners of the two zones met in the Inter-Zonal Zone
("INZ") to decide which national team would challenge
the defending champion for the cup.
In 1955, a third zone, the "Eastern Zone", was added.
Because there were three zones, the winner of one of the
three zones received a bye in the first round of the INZ
challenger rounds. In 1966, the "Europe Zone" was split
into two zones, "Europe Zone A" and "Europe Zone B", so
the winners of the four zones competed in the INZ chal-
lenger rounds.
Beginning in 1972, the format was changed from a
Monument to the Davis Cup at Stade Roland Garros in Paris,
challenge cup, so that the defending champion was re-
France.
quired to compete in all rounds, and the Davis Cup was
awarded to the tournament champion.
Main article: Davis Cup structure
In 1981, the tiered system of competition was created,
which remains in use today, and in which the 16 best na-
Tournament tional teams compete in the World Group and in which
The world’s 16 best national teams are assigned to the all other national teams compete in one of the four
World Group and compete annually for the Davis Cup. groups in one of the three regional zones.
Nations which are not in the World Group compete in
one of three regional zones (Americas, Asia/Oceania, and Ties and rubbers
Europe/Africa). The competition is spread over four
As in other cup competitions tie is used in the Davis Cup
weekends during the year. Each elimination round be-
to mean an elimination (or knockout) round, rather than
tween competing nations is held in one of the countries.
meaning a draw or when competitors’ scores are equal.
The ITF determines the host countries for all possible
In the Davis Cup, the word rubber means an individual
matchups before each year’s tournament.
match. Thus, "tie" means a round, and "rubber" means a
The World Group is the top group and includes the
match.
world’s best 16 national teams. Teams in the World Group
In the annual World Group competition, 16 nations
play a four-round elimination tournament. Teams are
compete in 8 first-round ties ("rounds"); the 8 winners
seeded based on a ranking system released by the ITF,
compete 4 quarter-final-round ties; the 4 winners com-
taking into account previous years’ results. The defend-
pete in 2 semifinal-round ties; and the 2 winners compete
ing champion and runner-up are always the top two
in the final round tie.
seeds in the tournament. The losers of the first-round
Each tie consists of 5 rubbers ("matches"), which are
matches are sent to the World Group playoff round,
played in 3 days (usually on Friday, Saturday, and Sun-
where they play along with winners from Group I of the
day). The winner of the tie is the nation which wins 3 or
regional zones. The playoff round winners play in the
more of the 5 rubbers in the tie. On the first day, the first
World Group for the next year’s tournament, while the
2 rubbers are singles, which are generally played by each
losers play in Group I of their respective regional zone.
nation’s 2 best available singles players. On the second
Each of the three regional zones is divided into four
day, the doubles rubber is played. On the third day, the
groups. Groups I and II play elimination rounds, with the
final 2 rubbers are typically reverse singles, in which the
losing teams facing relegation to the next-lower group.
first-day contestants usually play again, but they swap
The teams in Groups III and those in Group IV play a
opponents from the first day’s singles rubbers. Howev-
round-robin tournament with promotion and relegation.
er, in certain circumstances, the team captain may re-
place one or two of the players who played the singles on
Friday by other players who were nominated for the tie.
For example, if the tie has already been decided in favour
2
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Davis Cup
of one of the teams, it is common for younger or lower- 1950, 1951, 1952,
1950, 1951, 1952, 1938, 1946,
ranked team members to play the remaining dead-rubbers 1953, 1955, 1956,
1953, 1955, 1956, 1947, 1948,
in order for them to gain Davis Cup experience. 1957, 1959, 1960,
1957, 1959, 1960, 1949, 1954,
Prior to each tie, the captain of each nation nomi- 1961, 1962, 1964,
1961, 1962, 1964, 1958, 1963,
nates a squad of four players and decides who will com- 1965, 1966, 1967,
1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1990,
pete in the tie. On the day before play starts, the order 1973, 1977, 1983,
1973, 1977, 1983, 1993, 2000, 2001
of play for the first day is drawn at random. In the past, 1986, 1999,
1986, 1999, 2003 (19)
teams could substitute final day singles players only in (28)
case of injury or illness, verified by a doctor, but current
Great Bri- 1903*, 1904*,
1903*, 1904*, 1900*, 1902*,
rules permit the captain to designate any player to play
tain 1905*, 1906*,
1905*, 1906*, 1907*, 1913,
the last two singles rubbers, provided that no first day
British 1912*, 1933,
1912*, 1933, 1919, 1931,
matchup is repeated. There is no restriction on which of
Isles* 1934, 1935,
1934, 1935, 1936 1937, 1978 (8)
the playing team members may play the doubles rubber:
(9)
the two singles players, two other players (usually dou-
bles specialists) or a combination. France 1927, 1928, 1929,
1927, 1928, 1929, 1925, 1926,
Each rubber is normally played in a best-of-5 set. The 1930, 1931, 1932,
1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1982,
first four sets use a tiebreak if necessary, but the fifth 1991, 1996,
1991, 1996, 2001 1999, 2002, 2010
set usually has no tiebreaker, so play continues until one (9) (7)
side wins by two games (e.g. 10–8). However, if a team has Sweden 1975, 1984, 1985,
1975, 1984, 1985, 1983, 1986,
clinched the tie ("round") before all 5 rubbers ("match- 1987, 1994, 1997,
1987, 1994, 1997, 1988, 1989, 1996
es") have been completed, the remaining rubbers may be 1998 (7) (5)
shortened to the best-of-3-sets, with a tie breaker if nec- 2000, 2004, 2008,
2000, 2004, 2008, 1965, 1967, 2003
Spain
essary to decide all three sets. 2009 (4) (3)
In Group III and Group IV competition, each tie
Germany 1988*, 1989*,
1988*, 1989*, 1970*, 1985* (2)
("round") consists only of 3 rubbers ("matches"), which
West Ger- 1993 (3)
include 2 singles and one doubles rubber, which is played
in a single day. The rubbers are in the best-of-3-set for- many*
mat, with a tie breaker if necessary to decide all three Russia 2002,
2002, 2006 (2) 1994, 1995, 2007
sets. (3)
Italy 1976 (1) 1960, 1961,
Records and statistics 1977, 1979,
1980, 1998 (6)
Team Czech 1980*
1980* (1) 1975*, 2009, (2)
For more details on this topic, see List of Davis Cup cham- Republic
pions. Czechoslo-
Country Years Won Runners Up vakia*
United 1900, 1902, 1913,
1900, 1902, 1913, 1903, 1905, South 1974 (1) (0)
States 1920, 1921, 1922,
1920, 1921, 1922, 1906, 1908, Africa
1923, 1924, 1925,
1923, 1924, 1925, 1909, 1911,
Croatia 2005 (1) (0)
1926, 1937, 1938,
1926, 1937, 1938, 1914, 1927,
1946, 1947, 1948,
1946, 1947, 1948, 1928, 1929, Serbia 2010 (1) (0)
1949, 1954, 1958,
1949, 1954, 1958, 1930, 1932, (0) 1969, 1971, 1972
Romania
1963, 1968, 1969,
1963, 1968, 1969, 1934, 1935, (3)
1970, 1971, 1972,
1970, 1971, 1972, 1939, 1950,
India (0) 1966, 1974, 1987
1978, 1979, 1981,
1978, 1979, 1981, 1951, 1952,
(3)
1982, 1990, 1992,
1982, 1990, 1992, 1953, 1955,
1995, 2007 (32)
1995, 1956, 1957, Argentina (0) 1981, 2006, 2008
1959, 1964, (3)
1973, 1984, Belgium (0) 1904 (1)
1991, 1997, 2004
Japan (0) 1921 (1)
(29)
Australia 1907*, 1908*,
1907*, 1908*, 1912*, 1920*, Mexico (0) 1962 (1)
Australa- 1909*, 1911*,
1909*, 1911*, 1922*, 1923, Chile (0) 1976 (1)
sia* 1914, 1919, 1939,
1914, 1919, 1939, 1924, 1936,
3
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Davis Cup
Country Titles First Last
United States 13 1968 2007
Sweden 7 1975 1998
Australia 6 1973 2003
Spain 4 2000 2009
France 3 1991 2001
Germany 3 1988 1993
Russia 2 2002 2006
South Africa 1 1974 1974
Italy 1 1976 1976
Czechoslovakia 1 1980 1980
Croatia 1 2005 2005
Serbia 1 2010 2010
Switzerland
(0) 1992 (1) Current ITF rankings
Slovakia (0) 2005 (1) For a complete list, see ITF Rankings
Rank Nation Points Previous
Titles by country (Open era) 1 Spain 35479.69 1 (±0)
• • All-time: 7, United States, 1920–1926 2 25806.25 2 (±0)
Serbia
• Post-Challenge Round: 2; United States, ’78–’79,
’81–’82; Sweden, ’84–’85, ’97–’98; West Germany, 3 Argentina 23368.75 4 (+1)
’88–’89; Spain, 2008–2009 4 France 17948.75 3 (-1)
• • All-time: 23, Australia, 1946–1968
5 Czech Republic 14268.88 5 (±0)
• Post-Challenge Round: 7, Sweden, 1983–1989
• • All-time: 327, India 3–2 Australia, 1974 Eastern 6 United States 8087.50 6 (±0)
Zone final
7 Croatia 5695.00 12 (+5)
• World Group (before tiebreak): 281, Paraguay 3–2
France, 1985 first round 8 Russia 5250.00 7 (-1)
• World Group (since tiebreak): 281, Romania 3–2 9 Germany 4843.75 8 (-1)
Ecuador, 2003 World Group play-offs
10 Kazakhstan 4588.13 9 (-1)
Individual 11 Israel 4196.88 10 (-1)
• [2] 12 Sweden 3950.00 11 (-1)
• Mohammed-Akhtar Hossain; Bangladesh; 13
13 Italy 3217.50 19 (+6)
years, 326 days1
• [2] 14 Canada 3187.50 21 (+7)
• Gadonfin Koptigan Yaka; Togo; 59 years, 147 days 15 3040.63 16 (+1)
• [2] Switzerland
• 164, Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy 16 Austria 3020.31 15 (-1)
• [2]
Complete rankings as of 19 September 2011 (2011 -09-19)
• 78, Domenico Vicini, San Marino
• [2]
• Total: 120, Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy ATP points distribution
• Singles: 78, Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy
ATP Points distributed from 2009 onwards[3]
• Doubles: 42, Nicola Pietrangeli, Italy
1Players must now be aged 14 and over
Gloss
Only World Group and World Group Play-Off matches
and only live matches earn points.[3]
4
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Davis Cup
Davis Cup
Rubber Category Match Win Match Loss Team Bonus Performance Bonus Total Achievable
Play-offs 5(10)1 15
1st Round 40 102 80
Quarterfinals 65 130
Semifinals 70 140
Final 75 753 1254 275
Total accumulative 500 535 625 625
1 For the first rubber won 5 points is awarded, the • Hopman Cup
second absorbed rubber grants 10 points that gives a to-
tal of 15 available points.[3]
2 If a player goes on to win a live rubber in later
References
rounds, these 10 points are discounted. Only one loss can [1] "Davis Cup Grows by a Third". daviscup.com.
be converted to points.[3] http://www.daviscup.com/en/news/articles/
3 Team bonus awarded to a singles player who wins 7 davis-cup-grows-by-a-third.aspx. Retrieved
live matches and his team wins the competition.[3] 2010-12-05.
4 Performance bonus awarded to a singles player who [2] ^ http://www.daviscup.com/en/history/
wins 8 live matches. In this case, no Team bonus is award- records.aspx
ed.[3] [3] ^ "IX_The_Rankings" (pdf). 2010-12-16.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/~/media/
3968641831524F80B9983093AC893BFE.ashx.
Retrieved 2011-03-22.
See also
• Davis Cup structure
External links
• List of Davis Cup champions • Official Davis Cup website
• International Tennis Federation • Davis Cup live streaming website
• Fed Cup
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Davis_Cup&oldid=460033996"
Categories:
• Recurring sporting events established in 1900
• Davis Cup
• World championships
This page was last modified on 10 November 2011 at 21:51. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-
ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. See Terms of use for details. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of
the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.Contact us
Privacy policy About Wikipedia Disclaimers Mobile view
5