Davis Cup - History

History

The tournament was conceived in 1899 by four members of the Harvard University tennis team who wished to challenge the British to a tennis competition. Once their respective lawn tennis associations agreed, one of the four Harvard players, Dwight F. Davis, designed a tournament format and ordered an appropriate sterling silver trophy from Shreve, Crump & Low, purchasing it from his own funds for about $1000. They in turn commissioned a classically-styled design from William B. Durgin's of Concord, New Hampshire, crafted by the Englishman Rowland Rhodes. Davis went on to become a prominent politician in the United States in the 1920s, serving as US Secretary of War from 1925–29 and as Governor-General of the Philippines from 1929–32.

The first match, between the United States and Britain (which originally competed using the name "British Isles"), was held at the Longwood Cricket Club 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 1914.

The tournament was initially titled the International Lawn Tennis Challenge although it soon became known as the Davis Cup, after Dwight Davis' trophy.

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

The United States has won the event the most times (32), closely followed by Australia (28 ), Great Britain (9 ), France (9) and Sweden (7).

Up until 1973, the Davis Cup had only ever been won by the United States, Great Britain/British Isles, France and Australia/Australasia. Their domination was eventually broken in 1974, when South Africa and India qualified for the final; however, the final was scratched and South Africa was awarded the Davis Cup after India refused to travel to South Africa for the final in protest of the South African government's apartheid policies. (As of 2010, South Africa has never actually played in a Davis Cup finals match.) The following year saw the first final between two "outsider" nations that was actually played; Sweden beat Czechoslovakia 3–2, and since then, several other countries have gone on to capture the trophy.

In 1989, the tiebreak was also introduced into Davis Cup competition. The tiebreak is now used in all sets except for 5th set, which remains an advantage set.

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