Kyle Edmund became the
first player to make his Davis Cup by BNP Paribas debut in a Final since 2003
after being given the nod by Great Britain captain Leon Smith to take to the
court on the opening day against Belgium.
12 years ago, Spain’s Feliciano Lopez experienced his first taste of
Davis Cup in the final.
India competed its
first Davis Cup in 1921 but has not won yet.
We finished as runners-up 3 times
(1966, 1974, 1987). In 1974, the final was scratched and South Africa were
awarded the Davis Cup after India refused to participate in the final due to
the South African government's apartheid policies. India were strong favorites
to win with Vijay Amritraj and Anand Amritraj at their best. Remember in 1987, India again reached the
finals but this time it was a very strong Sweden line up as they played at the
Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden. Mats
Wilander beat Ramesh Krishnan; Andres Jarryd beat Vijay Amritraj; Joakim
Nystrom/Wilander beat Anand & Vijay Amritraj; Andres Jarryd beat Ramesh
Krishnan and Wilander beat Vijay.
Davis Cup began in 1900 as
a competition between USA and Great Britain and went on to become the world’s
largest annual international team competition in sport, with 126 nations taking
part in 2015. In the inaugural version
USA played the British Isles. It was held at the Longwood Cricket Club in
Boston and the Americans surprised their opponents by racing into an
unassailable 3-0 lead. Once the two
respective national associations had agreed, one of the four players, Dwight
Davis, designed a tournament format and ordered a trophy, buying it with his
own money. The tournament was originally known as the International Lawn Tennis
Challenge, later became known as Davis Cup after Dwight Davis’s trophy.
In 2000, Spain won its
first Davis Cup title before going on to claim four more victories and
establish itself as the competition’s dominant force of recent times. During
the last decade, Russia, Croatia, and Serbia also lifted the trophy for the
first time, with the latter two being the only unseeded nations to win the
title. In the 100th Final in 2012, Czech Republic overcame Spain
3-2 in a dramatic contest. BNP Paribas took over NEC as the competition’s Title
Sponsor in 2002, a partnership that still flourishes today.
The news now is Andy
Murray has given Britain its first Davis Cup title in 79 years after beating
Belgium's David Goffin. The British number one had his pregnant wife Kim and
mother Judy cheering him on as he sailed past his opponent 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 in
Gent. The win gave Britain an unassailable 3-1 lead in the best-of-five series
and the final singles match was not played.
Murray was forced to play
some of his best tennis against an opponent who refused to buckle, but he would
not be denied. He wobbled briefly when he dropped serve early in the third set
but the world number two responded to move 5-3 ahead. He finished the job in
spectacular fashion, hoisting a lob over the stranded Goffin before collapsing
on to the court. Murray was immediately swamped by his team mates, captain Leon
Smith and the support staff and was hoisted shoulder high on the court before
saluting the dancing British fans.
Britain is the only nation
to have competed in all Davis Cup editions since 1900 and its 10th title makes
it the third most successful nation after the United States (32) and Australia
(28). But it was a long way coming. Britain last won it in 1936 with Fred Perry
as its star and last played in the final in 1978.
In July 1983, Lendl played
three exhibition matches (against Johan Kriek, Kevin Curren, Jimmy Connors) in
Sun City, in the apartheid-era. The Czechoslovak Sport Federation (ČSTV),
controlled by the Communist Party, expelled him from the Czechoslovak Davis Cup
team and fined him $150,000. Lendl
disagreed with the punishment and fine. In
addition, the publication of his name and results in the Czechoslovak
media was prohibited. The ban was extended not only to Lendl, but to anything
about world tennis. This resulted in his decision to apply for a green
card in 1987 and later on for U.S. citizenship.
With regards – S.
Sampathkumar
29th Nov. 2015.