2 man team (Davis Cup)

Name: andycharger

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Product:	Davis Cup
Date:	17/06/02 (28 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Tennis, Country Spirit

Disadvantages: Lack of players makes us a 2 player team

With the start of Wimbledon only a week way and the chance of another year to be heartbroken by Tim Henman falling at the final fence, I thought it was about time I wrote about one of our other Tennis exploits during the year.
The Davis Cup.

What is it?

It all started in the late 19th Century when 4 keen tennis players at Harvard university went on a tennis tour around America. They did so well they decided to stretch their game to an international level.
Keen to take on the British, a tournament was hastily arranged. The prize for this event was a $700 trophy paid for by one of the American players known as Dwight Davis.
Hence the name of the Trophy the Davis Cup.

It was played over 3 days as it still is today with 2 days of Singles matches sandwiching a doubles match on the middle day.

4 years after its inception, Belgium,France and Austria joined the tournament after it being a solely American and British event for its first few years.

The tournament remained nameless until it was christened the "Davis Cup" in 1945 after the death of Dwight Davis.

Today it is competed for by many teams who fight it out in various divisions of play. Only the top division can win the trophy but the other divisions play for promotion to the top flight.

How is it played?

Basically, a Davis Cup team must have a minimum of 2 players. This is the format that Great Britain seems to play because we only have 2 decent players. However, countries who are more blessed with talent usually use 4 players.

This is because of the format of an event.
Played over 3 days, Day 1 will see 2 singles matches played between the 2 teams.
On Day 2, a doubles match is played. This can be played by either the 2 singles players from the day before or a specialist doubles pairing if the country has one.
Britain opt for playing the 2 singles players together.
On day 3, the 2 singles matchups
are reversed from Friday so that each player plays his teammates opponent from Friday.

How is it won?
Each match is called a Rubber. It is the first team to win 3 Rubbers during the event.
Once the team reaches 3 Rubbers, the event is over. Theoretically an even can finish in 2 days if a team win 3-0.

Who is good at Davis Cup?

Well, Great Britain are in the top group but struggle badly. Playing all matches with Tim Henman and Greg Rusedski means they become fatigued during a long season.
Meanwhile Australia are a good Davis Cup Team with Leyton Hewitt, Pat Rafter, Mark Phillipousis to choose from, they do well.
America also have an abundnce of players with the likes of Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras, Todd Martin and Andy Roddick all playing a big part in recent victories.
Russia are currently one of the strongest with big names such as Marrit Safin and Yefgeny Kafelnikov.

Is it good to watch?
Yes. There are often events held in the UK in Birmingham at the NEC. The atmosphere is electric because it is more like a football match than tennis. Everyone rallying around their country rather than one player.

Overall.
After Wimbledon, it is the best event on the calendar. It is cheaper than Wimbledon and the Tennis is often better. Yuo get to see big names while watching along with many other crazy brits cheering our boys on.

Summary: