The International Tennis Federation (ITF) has decided to prepone the Davis Cup, bringing much-needed relief to India as they were staring at a clash between Asian Games to be held in China and the premier tennis event. Resultantly, the Davis Cup tie between India and Norway and other Asian nations will now be conducted from September 14-15, whereas the Tennis event in respect of the Asian Games has been reset to September 18-24. This aids India in putting up the best talent possible for the two competitions, especially the Davis Cup. Now, let us understand the evolution of the international tennis competition over the years, its history and the significance the yearly event holds for India.
Davis Cup: The Origin
Dubbed as the tennis version of the soccer World Cup, the Davis Cup derives its name from US collegian Dwight Filley Davis. He put forth the idea of starting a tennis event involving the US and Great Britain. Hence in 1900, the inaugural edition of the event featuring just the two teams was held with the US winning the same hands down (3-0) against the GB. The participation of other countries gradually increased over time as by 1920 twenty teams were competing for the cup. Currently, it happens to be one of the biggest global competitions in the world of sport. The tournament holds both categories of the game, Singles and Doubles, and is scheduled annually.
Evolution Of The Competition
Initially, Davis envisaged a three-day format for the cup with two Singles matches on the first and third days and Doubles on the second day. However, at present, it has become a knockout affair played over a period of one year. The event has come a long way since its inception as from a team of two the representation from the countries has grown to 142. But, only the ones making it to the top 16, called the World Group, can actually vie for the ultimate prize: the Davis Cup. The rest are divided into three groups that are accorded promotion and relegation on the basis of performance among each other. So, the chief objective or mission of the teams in the group is to perform well and qualify for the World Group.
How India Have Fared In The Event?
India’s maiden appearance in the tournament happened in 1921 and has since then featured in 191 events, winning 114 and losing 77. The country has been out of the World Group after its 4-1 loss to Serbia in 2011. With 89 victories, Leander Paes is number one by a mile as far as Indian players are concerned. Overall, India have made it to the Davis Cup finals thrice: 1966, 1974 and 1987.
The Magic Of The Indian Trio & The Subsequent Withdrawal
In the year 1974, Vijay Amritraj stunned the tennis world by getting the better of the tennis legend Bjorn Borg in the US Open. In the very same year, the Indian trio involving Vijay, Anand and Jasjit Singh helped India go past some strong opponents such as Australia and the Soviet Union to storm into the final of the Davis Cup with South Africa. Unfortunately for India, the clear favourite to lift the Cup in 74, they had to pull out of the final eventually in protest against the South African government’s highly discriminative apartheid policies.
