1.
United States Davis Cup team
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The United States of Americas Davis Cup Team represents the United States in Davis Cup tennis competition, and is governed by the United States Tennis Association. The U. S. competed in the very first Davis Cup in 1900 and they are the most successful Davis Cup team ever to compete in the Davis Cup, winning the coveted Davis Cup title on 32 separate occasions closely followed by Australia on 28. The U. S. Davis Cup Team won the very first Davis Cup title in 1900 and their most recent win was in 2007, defeating Russia in the final. *Rankings as of 16 January 2017 Here is the list of all match-ups since 1981, the statistics reflect results since the 1981 Davis Cup, and are up-to-date as of the 2013 Davis Cup World Group quarterfinals. Record against continents Record by decade 2010–2019, 5–5 2000–2009, 16–9 1990–1999, 24–7 1981–1989, 16–6 Team page on DavisCup. com
2.
Davis Cup
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The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in mens tennis. It is run by the International Tennis Federation and is contested annually between teams from competing countries in a knock-out format and it is described by the organisers as the World Cup of Tennis, and the winners are referred to as the World Champion team. The competition began in 1900 as a challenge between Great Britain and the United States, by 2016,135 nations entered teams into the competition. The most successful countries over the history of the tournament are the United States, the present champions are Argentina who beat Croatia to win the title for the first time in 2016. The womens equivalent of the Davis Cup is the Fed Cup, Australia, the Czech Republic, and the United States are the only countries to have held both Davis Cup and Fed Cup titles in the same year. The Hopman Cup, a competition for mixed teams, carries less prestige. 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 and they in turn commissioned a classically styled design from William B. Durgins 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 to 1929 and as Governor-General of the Philippines from 1929 to 1932. The first match, between the United States and Britain, was held at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, 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 match in 1902 and Britain won the four matches. By 1905 the tournament expanded to include Belgium, Austria, France, and Australasia, the tournament was initially titled the International Lawn Tennis Challenge although it soon became known as the Davis Cup, after Dwight Davis trophy. The Davis Cup competition was played as a challenge cup. All teams competed against one another for the right to face the previous champion in the final round. Beginning in 1923, the teams were split into two zones, the America Zone and the Europe Zone. The winners of the two met in the Inter-Zonal Zone 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 competed in the INZ challenger rounds. From 1950 to 1967, Australia dominated the competition, winning the Cup 15 times in 18 years
3.
Harvard University
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Although never formally affiliated with any denomination, the early College primarily trained Congregationalist and Unitarian clergy. Its curriculum and student body were gradually secularized during the 18th century, james Bryant Conant led the university through the Great Depression and World War II and began to reform the curriculum and liberalize admissions after the war. The undergraduate college became coeducational after its 1977 merger with Radcliffe College, Harvards $34.5 billion financial endowment is the largest of any academic institution. Harvard is a large, highly residential research university, the nominal cost of attendance is high, but the Universitys large endowment allows it to offer generous financial aid packages. Harvards alumni include eight U. S. presidents, several heads of state,62 living billionaires,359 Rhodes Scholars. To date, some 130 Nobel laureates,18 Fields Medalists, Harvard was formed in 1636 by vote of the Great and General Court of the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In 1638, it obtained British North Americas first known printing press, in 1639 it was named Harvard College after deceased clergyman John Harvard an alumnus of the University of Cambridge who had left the school £779 and his scholars library of some 400 volumes. The charter creating the Harvard Corporation was granted in 1650 and it offered a classic curriculum on the English university model—many leaders in the colony had attended the University of Cambridge—but conformed to the tenets of Puritanism. It was never affiliated with any denomination, but many of its earliest graduates went on to become clergymen in Congregational. The leading Boston divine Increase Mather served as president from 1685 to 1701, in 1708, John Leverett became the first president who was not also a clergyman, which marked a turning of the college toward intellectual independence from Puritanism. When the Hollis Professor of Divinity David Tappan died in 1803 and the president of Harvard Joseph Willard died a year later, in 1804, in 1846, the natural history lectures of Louis Agassiz were acclaimed both in New York and on the campus at Harvard College. Agassizs approach was distinctly idealist and posited Americans participation in the Divine Nature, agassizs perspective on science combined observation with intuition and the assumption that a person can grasp the divine plan in all phenomena. When it came to explaining life-forms, Agassiz resorted to matters of shape based on an archetype for his evidence. Charles W. Eliot, president 1869–1909, eliminated the position of Christianity from the curriculum while opening it to student self-direction. While Eliot was the most crucial figure in the secularization of American higher education, he was motivated not by a desire to secularize education, during the 20th century, Harvards international reputation grew as a burgeoning endowment and prominent professors expanded the universitys scope. Rapid enrollment growth continued as new schools were begun and the undergraduate College expanded. Radcliffe College, established in 1879 as sister school of Harvard College, Harvard became a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900. In the early 20th century, the student body was predominately old-stock, high-status Protestants, especially Episcopalians, Congregationalists, by the 1970s it was much more diversified
4.
Tennis
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Tennis is a racket sport that can be played individually against a single opponent or between two teams of two players each. Each player uses a racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net. The object of the game is to play the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return, the player who is unable to return the ball will not gain a point, while the opposite player will. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society, the sport can be played by anyone who can hold a racket, including wheelchair users. The modern game of tennis originated in Birmingham, England, in the late 19th century as lawn tennis and it had close connections both to various field games such as croquet and bowls as well as to the older racket sport of real tennis. The rules of tennis have changed little since the 1890s, two exceptions are that from 1908 to 1961 the server had to keep one foot on the ground at all times, and the adoption of the tiebreak in the 1970s. Tennis is played by millions of players and is also a popular worldwide spectator sport. Historians believe that the ancient origin lay in 12th century northern France. Louis X of France was a player of jeu de paume, which evolved into real tennis. Louis was unhappy with playing tennis outdoors and accordingly had indoor, in due course this design spread across royal palaces all over Europe. Because of the accounts of his death, Louis X is historys first tennis player known by name. Another of the enthusiasts of the game was King Charles V of France. It wasnt until the 16th century that rackets came into use, and the game began to be called tennis, from the French term tenez, an interjection used as a call from the server to his opponent. It was popular in England and France, although the game was played indoors where the ball could be hit off the wall. Henry VIII of England was a big fan of this game, during the 18th century and early 19th century, as real tennis declined, new racket sports emerged in England. This in turn led to the codification of rules for many sports, including lawn tennis, most football codes, lawn bowls. In 1872, along with two doctors, they founded the worlds first tennis club in Leamington Spa. Evans, turfgrass agronomist, Sports historians all agree that deserves much of the credit for the development of modern tennis, according to Honor Godfrey, museum curator at Wimbledon, Wingfield popularized this game enormously
5.
United States Tennis Association
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The United States Tennis Association is the national governing body for tennis in the United States. A not-for-profit organization with more than 700,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds to promote and develop the growth of tennis, the association was created to standardize rules and regulations and to promote and develop the growth of tennis in the United States. The USTA runs the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center which hosts the US Open every year, the USTA has leagues in most places for adults skill levels between beginner and pro. The USTA also hosts tournaments across the country every weekend for club players or professionals, the USTA has 17 geographical sections with more than 700,000 individual members and 7,000 organizational members, and a professional staff. In 1920 the word National was dropped from the organizations name, in 1975, the word Lawn was officially dropped from the name. The USTA uses National Tennis Rating Program ratings or more commonly NTRPs to rate the players based on skill level, the NTRPs range from the beginner 1.5 with.5 increments all the way up to 7.0 or world-class players. The NTRPs are used in the leagues for equal levels and tournaments, the most common NTRPs are 3.5 and 4.0. At the end of a year, the USTA reveals online what rating everybody in the program is. Rating depends on how many matches youve won, what the score was, if you are joining for the first year, a guide is given to you to self rate. All of the played in the spring season are taken into account of what ranking you are. Http, //www. eastern. usta. com/For-Players/20016_USTA_Adult_Senior_Leagues__Ratings/ The USTA hosts adult tournaments in most cities with populations over 150,000 people, leagues for adults with ratings ranging from 2.5 to 5.0 are organized in the Spring and/or Fall. In most areas, the adult seasons consist of singles, doubles, fewer cities have Fall leagues for singles and/or alternate league types such as combo, mixed combo, or tri-level. In most states, there are one and five tournaments each weekend. Adults with a 3.0 to 4.5 rating can usually play in these tournaments, leagues include,10 and under, Juniors, Adults 18-40, and Adults 40 or older. Anyone over 40 may request placement in the 18-40 league, http, //www. eastern. usta. com/For-Players/19991_Home/. intloc=headernav US Open Cincinnati Masters New Haven Open at Yale U. S. Mens Clay Court Championships * First female to be elected USTA president. Samuel Hardy Award - The International Tennis Hall of Fame annually presents the Samuel Hardy Award to a USTA volunteer in recognition of long and outstanding service to the sport of tennis. The recipient must exemplify those qualities of personal unselfishness and devotion to the game which have been an inspiration to others, the award is presented at the USTA Annual Meeting. The honorees are selected by an appointed by the chairman of the International Tennis Hall of Fame
6.
Lawn Tennis Association
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The Lawn Tennis Association is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. The organisation was founded in 1888 and seven-time Wimbledon champion William Renshaw was elected as its first president, as the governing body, the LTA’s overall purpose is to grow and sustain the sport. The success of British tennis is tracked by five headline measures of success,1, number of members of registered places to play 2. Number of British tennis members 3, number of regularly competing juniors 4. Number of International A Matrix juniors 5, number of players in the top 100. These measures of success gives a snapshot of the impact of work the LTA does. The LTA’s focus is to develop participation growth to more people play tennis. The approach to growing participation is based on investment in four areas,1. Places – Investing in places to play at parks, clubs, schools, people – Supporting the people who make tennis happen, including coaches, volunteers and club officials 3. Programmes – Developing programmes including LTA Mini Tennis, Cardio Tennis and Tennis Xpress 4 and it opened in 2007 and is a focal point for Britains top players. It has 22 courts, player accommodation and a science centre. The NTC has 12 acrylic hard courts,6 clay courts, hard Courts, The NTCs 12 acrylic courts are a GreenSet Grand Prix Acrylic surface. The indoor courts have a sprung timber sub-frame, while the courts are laid directly on asphalt. This GreenSet surface is used at international tournaments including Davis Cup, Fed Cup, WTA. 4 Northern European Clay Courts and 2 FRENCH-COURT synthetic clay courts, grass Courts, The LTA consulted All England Lawn Tennis Club head groundsman Eddie Seaward to advise on the installation of its four outdoor grass courts. The quality and playing characteristics replicate those found at the Wimbledon Championships, along with its 22 tennis courts, the NTC is equipped with a state-of-the-art gymnasium, outdoor sprint track, hydrotherapy, plunge pools and relaxation egg. The NTC has overnight accommodation for up to 54 people, along with a player lounge, the NTC provides services in Performance analysis, fitness, psychology, physiotherapy and rehab, strength and conditioning, medical support and nutrition. The current structure is as follows, Level 1 Coaching Assistant - The Level 1 Coaching Assistant is an introduction to tennis coaching, Level 1’s are qualified to assist accredited coaches in groups of Mini Tennis
7.
Dwight F. Davis
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Dwight Filley Davis, Sr. was an American tennis player and politician. He is best remembered as the founder of the Davis Cup international tennis competition and he was the Assistant Secretary of War from 1923 to 1925 and Secretary of War from 1925 to 1929. Dwight Filley Davis was born in St. Louis, Missouri on July 5,1879 and he reached the All-Comers final for the Mens Singles title at the US Championships in 1898 and 1899. He then teamed up with Holcombe Ward and won the Mens Doubles title at the championships for three years in a row from 1899 to 1901, Davis and Ward were also Mens Doubles runners-up at Wimbledon in 1901. Davis also won the American intercollegiate singles championship of 1899 as a student at Harvard College and he was a member of the US team that won the first two competitions in 1900 and 1902, and was also the captain of the 1900 team. He participated in the 1904 Summer Olympics and he was eliminated in the second round of the singles tournament. In the doubles tournament he and his partner Ralph McKittrick lost in the quarter-finals, Davis was educated at Washington University Law School, though he was never a practicing attorney. He was, however, politically active in his town of St. Louis. During his tenure, he expanded athletic facilities and created the first municipal tennis courts in the United States and he served President Calvin Coolidge as Assistant Secretary of War and as Secretary of War. He then served as Governor General of the Philippines under Herbert Hoover and his first wife, Helen Brooks, whom he married in 1905, died in 1932. He married Pauline Sabin in 1936 and he wintered in Florida from 1933 until his death, living at Meridian Plantation, near Tallahassee. Davis died at his home in Washington, D. C. on November 28,1945, Davis has been honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame. Media related to Dwight F. Davis at Wikimedia Commons Dwight F. Davis at the Davis Cup International Tennis Hall of Fame profile
8.
Great Britain Davis Cup team
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The Great Britain Davis Cup team is the mens national tennis team and has represented the United Kingdom internationally since 1900. Organised by the Lawn Tennis Association, it is one of the 50 members of International Tennis Federations European association, the United Kingdom teams performance has been inconsistent, it enjoyed its most successful periods in the 1910s and the 1930s, and has seen a resurgence in recent years. The team has won the world cup 10 times and been runner-ups on 8 occasions and it has longstanding rivalries with Australia and the United States. The national team took part in the inaugural Davis Cup in 1900 and they are the third most successful team in terms of championships won. Under the current management of Leon Smith, the team qualified to the World Group in 2013, won the title in 2015. Great Britains first match, and first ever national match in history, was a 0–3 loss to the United States in 1900. The tournament was not organised in 1901, and lost the following year, the national team would go on to dominate the competition, winning the next three tournaments. The postwar period saw moderate results, but British fortunes declined until the appointment of 31-year old Paul Hutchins as captain in 1976 and he would captain the team for 10 years, and lead the team in 31 ties. He would lead Great Britain to the final in 1978, defeating Australia 3–2 in the semifinal, despite losing in the final, the team won the BBC Sports Personality Team of the Year Award. Likewise, it was the first time the LTA promoted the event, according to The Guardian Britain has seen a decline in its Davis Cup fortunes ever since. The next two years saw mixed results, but in in 1981 the team reached the semifinals, losing to Australia and it would be their last semifinal until 2015. Warren Jacques, an Australian, was appointed captain in 1988 as Hutchins replacement and he was appointed due to his former role in coaching Kevin Curren, the 1985 Wimbledon finalist. However, the idea to appoint a person who was not of the nationality was so foreign that the LTA sought special dispensation from the International Tennis Federation. The teams results continued to slide under Jacques leadership, following the teams 0–5 defeat to France, Jacques was removed as captain and replaced by Tony Pickard. When asked about the defeat, Jacques claimed Were ten years from being competitive in the Davis Cup, in the ensuing years, under Pickards leadership, Great Britain would manage to keep its place in the World Group. In 1994, Pickard delivered an attack on the Lawn Tennis Associations training department. In response the LTA did not renew Pickards contract, the team lost the last four matches under Pickards stewardship, marking the worst performance in twenty years. David Lloyd took over as captain later that year and his captaincy started well, with Great Britain winning the Europe/Africa Zone II, and being promoted to the Europe/Africa Zone I
9.
Longwood Cricket Club
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Longwood Cricket Club is a tennis and former cricket club based in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, United States. It is the site of the first Davis Cup competition, a club for cricket was opened in 1877 at Longwood Estate, a place named after the house Napoleon Bonaparte stayed at while exiled to Saint Helena. Located on the outskirts of Boston, cricketers and baseball players put Longwood on the sports map, specifically, Harry Wright, first player-manager of the Boston Red Stockings, played cricket for the United States, as did his brother George Wright. George Wright combined with tennis pro Charlie Chambers in league games throughout New England, George Wright was the co-proprietor of Wright and Ditman, purveyor of fine sports goods. Wright brought the first tennis gear to Boston on his return from a tour of England in 1874. Wright also taught tennis to Harvard students and toured with them in California in 1890, a lawn tennis court was laid in 1878, two years after the organization of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club at Lords Cricket Ground in London. On January 5,1888, Longwood member and US cricket team captain C. L. Bixby led the team to a win over the West Indies cricket team at the Bourda ground in Georgetown, Guyana. Richard D. Sears, who won seven United States Championships, the clubs first tennis tournament was held in 1882. The Eastern Championship for doubles tennis was held in 1890, the following year saw the first Longwood Bowl tournament, attracting top American players. It would continue to be held annually until 1942, Cricket was last played at Longwood in 1933 before a one-off game was held in October 2008 between the Faded Blues CC and St. Columbas Cricket Club from Newport, Rhode Island. The Davis-captained Americans won the inaugural contest 3–0, in total,15 Davis Cup ties have been settled at Longwood. The British Isles defeated the Americans 4–1 in the 1903 final, the 1908 semi-final saw the Americans reverse their fortunes and prevail by the same score. The next eight ties played at Longwood did not involve the American team,1914 saw Australia defeat Britain 3–0 in a semi-final. After France swept Japan 5–0 in a 1927 semi-final, the Davis Cup would not return to Longwood for 11 years, a further decade would elapse before in 1948 Australia won another semi, this time over Czechoslovakia, 3–1. In 1957, the U. S. team returned to Brookline to defeat Brazil 5–0 in a 3rd round tie, two years later saw Australia dispatch with India 4–1 in the penultimate round. Another 40 years would pass before in 1999, Australia, led by Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt defeated the U. S. led by Pete Sampras and this was the last time a top-flight professional tennis match was played at Longwood. Jefferson, North Carolina, McFarland & Company, Longwood Cricket Club Map, 40°29′46″N 74°39′22″W
United States
