The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in men's tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation (ITF) and is contested between teams of players from competing countries in a knock-out format. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Britain and the United States. By 2007, 137 nations entered teams into the competition.
The most successful countries over the history of the tournament are the United States (winning 32 tournaments and finishing as runners-up 29 times) and Australia (winning 28 times, including four occasions with New Zealand under the name 'Australasia', and finishing as runners-up 19 times). The present champion is Spain. Interesting facts:
- Spain’s unbeaten home run now stands at 21 ties, which is a World Group record.
- The all-time record for successive home wins is held by Italy, who won 28 ties between 1949 and 1964.
- Consecutive titles All-time: 7, United States, 1920–1926
- Consecutive finals appearances All-time: 23, Australia, 1946–1968
World Group: The eight nations that win their World Group first round ties progress to play in the quarterfinals, semifinals and subsequent final, at which the winning team is crowned champion. These nations are all guaranteed of a place in the top tier the following year. The eight nations that lose their first round ties have to contest the World Group play-offs (that then decide promotion and relegation between the eight first round losers from World Group and eight winners from Zone Group I).
The Zone Groups are divided into three regions: Americas, Asia/Oceania and Europe/Africa. Within each region there are either three or four divisions, Group I being the highest and Group IV being the lowest.
Zone Groups III and IV follow a different format to the higher Groups. They are week-long events played at one location. Each Group is initially split into round-robin pools, with play-offs then deciding promotion and relegation. The exact format of each Group varies according to the number of participating teams.
World Group and Zone Groups I and II Ties are contested in a best-of-five rubbers format and are played over a three-day weekend. There are two singles on Friday, a doubles on Saturday and then the reverse singles on Sunday. The tie is hosted by one of the competing nations.
Zone Groups III and IV Ties are contested in a best-of-three rubbers format and are played on one day. There are two singles followed by a doubles. Due to the multi-nation format, ties take place on successive days.
The Duke of Edinburgh; H A Pitt, president of the Victorian Lawn Tennis Association; Queen Elizabeth II; and Sir Norman Brookes, president of the LTAA, looking at the Davis Cup during a royal tour of Australia.
Schedule for Season 2012:
10-12 February: World Group 1st round
Americas Zone Group I and II 1st round
Asia/Oceania Zone Group I and II 1st round
Europe/Africa Zone Group I and II 1st round
6-8 April: World Group quarterfinals
Americas Zone Group I and II 2nd round / 1st round play-offs / play-offs
Asia/Oceania Zone Group I and II 2nd round / 1st round play-offs / play-offs
Europe/Africa Zone Group I and II 2nd round / 1st round play-offs / play-offs
16 April (1 week): Asia/Oceania Zone Group IV
23 April (1 week): Asia/Oceania Zone Group III
30 April (1 week): Europe Zone Group III
2 July (1 week): Africa Zone Group III
To be confirmed: Americas Zone Group III
14-16 September: World Group semifinals / play-offs
Americas Zone Group I 2nd round play-offs
Americas Zone Group II 3rd round
Asia/Oceania Zone Group I 2nd round play-offs
Asia/Oceania Zone Group II 3rd round
Europe/Africa Zone Group I 2nd round play-offs
Europe/Africa Zone Group II 3rd round
16-18 November: World Group Final
World Group First Round Teams:
Spain vs Kazakhstan
Nicolas Almagro Mikhail Kukushkin
Marcel Granollers Andrey Golubev
Juan Carlos Ferrero Yuriy Schukin
Marc Lopez Evgeny Korolev
Alex Corretja (captain) Yegor Shaldunov (captain)
Palacio Municipal de los Deportes, Oviedo, Spain
Austria vs Russia
Jurgen Melzer Alex Bogomolov
Andreas Haider-Maurer Mikhail Youzhny
Alexander Peya Nikolay Davydenko
Olivier Marach Igor Kunitsyn
Clemens Trimmel (captain) Shamil Tarpischev (captain)
Arena Nova, Wiener Neustadt, Austria
Canada vs France
Milos Raonic Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Vasek Pospisil Gael Monfils
Frank Dancevic Julien Benneteau
Daniel Nestor Michael Llodra
Martin Laurendeau (captain) Guy Forget (captain)
Thunderbird Sports Centre, Vancouver, Canada
USA Mardy Fish
John Isner
Ryan Harrison
Mike Bryan
Jim Courier (captain)
vs
Roger Federer
Stanislas Wawrinka
Marco Chiudinelli
Michael Lammer
Severin Luthi (captain)
Forum Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
Czech Rep. vs Italy
Tomas Berdych Simone Bolelli
Radek Stepanek Daniele Bracciali
Lukas Rosol Andreas Seppi
Frantisek Cermak Potito Starace
Jaroslav Navratil (captain) Corrado Barazzutti (captain)
CEZ Arena, Ostrava, Czech Republic
Serbia vs Sweden
Janko Tipsarevic Michael Ryderstedt
Viktor Troicki Carl Bergman
Ilija Bozoljac Filip Prpic
Nenad Zimonjic Robert Lindstedt
Bogdan Obradovic (captain) Thomas Enqvist (captain)
Hala Cair, Nis, Serbia
Japan vs Croatia
Kei Nishikori Ivan Dodig
Go Soeda Ivo Karlovic
Tatsuma Ito Antonio Veic
Yuichi Sugita Lovro Zovko
Eiji Takeuchi (captain) Zeljko Krajan (captain)
Bourbon Beans Dome, Hyogo, Japan
Germany vs Argentina
Florian Mayer Juan Ignacio Chela
Philipp Kohlschreiber Juan Monaco
Philipp Petzschner David Nalbandian
Tommy Haas Eduardo Schwank
Patrik Kuhnen (captain) Martin Jaite (captain)
Stechert Arena Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
Official website: http://www.daviscup.com/en/home.aspx
More info can be found at: www.wikipedia.org
xo K
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