Brothers and doubles partners Andy and Jamie Murray playing Australia at the 2015 Davis Cup semisThe Davis Cup is one of the iconic tournaments in tennis history, with a rich past and tradition. Instituted as a contest between Great Britain and United States, it evolved into the world’s premier international men’s team event.In 2015, 125 nations participated in the tournament, the highest ever in the tournament’s history.In 1981, a tiered system of competition was created. Now, the top 16 teams compete in the World Group and all other nations compete in one of the four groups in three regional zones. In this year’s finale, Great Britain will play Belgium on indoor clay. Andy Murray has been the hero of their Davis Cup campaign this year. In the team’s semi-final clash againt Australia, he won all three of his matches to take them to the final.Andy Murray has already expressed his desire to win the Davis Cup title for his country and is even willing to leave the World Tour finals to prepare for the Davis Cup finals.“The O2 would obviously be a question mark for me if we were playing on the clay,” said Murray. “I would go and train and prepare on the clay to get ready for the final.”It shows the significance Davis Cup holds for top tennis players. As the tennis season for 2015 approaches its end, let us try to analyse and rank the best Davis Cup final encounters of all time.
#5 Great Britain vs France, 1933
Fred Perry was the last great British player before Andy Murray. Apart from his great results in the Grand Slams, he also played a crucial role in the British success in the Davis Cup in 1930s.
At that time, the famous French quartet of Rene Lacoste, Henri Cochet, Jacques Brugnon and Jean Borotra were the top dogs in tennis. Together, the four of them won 20 Grand Slam titles. They also made France almost unbeatable in the Davis Cup, leading the country to six consecutive titles from 1927 to 1932.
Fred Perry defeated Perry defeated Cochet 8-10, 6-4, 8-6, 3-6, 6-1 in the second match of the Final. After the first four matches, the score was tied at 2-2. In the deciding rubber, Perry beat Andre Merlin 4-6, 8-6, 6-2, 7-5 to win the title for his country.
What was even more commendable was that Britain defeated France on their own soil to win the title. The win broke French domination at the Davis Cup and started a golden chapter for Great Britain, who dominated the Davis Cup for the next few years. Perry also went on to win 8 Grand Slam titles, including three Wimbledon titles, before he turned pro. Murray will look upto this encounter to draw some inspiration for his chance at glory this November.
#4 Australia vs USA, 1939
In the rich history of the Davis Cup, only once has a team which has went behind 0-2 in the Davis Cup finals has come back to win it. It is a surprising stat, considering the fact that Davis Cup has been played for more than 100 years.
If we think about it, it is not very hard to understand why. There is a lot of pressure in the finals, and once you get behind, it only multiplies on the team lies behind. In 1939 though, Australian team did the unthinkable.
Here, in the first match, Bobby Riggs of USA beat John Bromwich of Australia 6-4, 6-0, 7-5. The second rubber also went USAs way, with Adrian Quist of Australia losing in a tough five-set encounter. At this stage, most people would have given up on their chances of winning.
However Adrian Quist and Bromwich doubled up to win the crucial third tie and put them with a small chance of comeback. Then in the first singles match on the final day, Quist won a tough five set encounter over Bobby Riggs, making things very interesting. In the deciding rubber, Bromwich beat Frank Parker 6-0, 6-3, 6-1 to complete the comeback.
The Davis Cup has been played for 76 years after that. Not once has that feat been repeated.
#3 Czech Republic vs Spain, 2012
Spain had been the dominant side in Davis Cup for the last few years, led by two top guys in Rafael Nadal and David Ferrer. They were also the defending champions, having won the title in remarkable fashion in 2011.
This time though, Nadal wasnt present due to an injury problem. Yet, the Spanish team were the favourites considering their past record against the Czech Republic, and their dominance of this event over the past few years.
In the first round of the final, David Ferrer beat Radek Stepanek in three straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 6-4. The Czech Republic fought back to win the next two matches, as Tomas Berdych secured a tough five set win over Nicolas Almagro, beating him 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-7, 6-3. He and Radek Stepanek also went on to win the doubles match to take Czech Republic 2-1 ahead in the encounter.
In the next round, David Ferrer beat Tomas Berdych in staright sets to set up an enticing deciding rubber. In the final match, Rdek Stepanek stepped up to the plate, and beat Nicolas Almagro in a four set match. It was undoubtedly the greatest moment of Stepaneks career, as he led his country to Davis Cup glory. It is surely one of the great moments in Davis Cup history.
#2 France vs USA, 1991
This was a historic moment for French tennis. Ever since the glory days of the Four Musketeers of tennis: Rene Lacoste, Henri Cochet, Jacques Brugnon and Jean Borotra, France had failed to win a single title in 59 years.
After Andre Agassi had won the first rubber for USA, Henri Leconte brought them back in the second singles, beating Pete Sampras, who was already a US Open champion at that time, in three straight sets 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.
Guy Forget, a top singles player, who reached a career high ranking of 4 in June 2011, then teamed up with Henri Leconte to win the doubles tie to take France up 2-1 in the contest. On the final day, the first singles match was scheduled between Sampras and Forget. Forget beat Sampras in a four set encounter to win the title for his country.
It was followed by huge celebrations by their team and indeed the entire country celebrated this truly momentous occasion for France.
It was a tough loss for Pete Sampras, who could not deliver his best at a crunch time. He later went on to become arguably mentally the toughest champion tennis had ever seen.
#1 Spain vs Argentina, 2011
Spain under Rafael Nadal were a dominant team in the Davis Cup towards the end of the 2000s. In the 2011 finals, Spain had arguably one of the best all time Davis Cup squads ever for clay. In Nadal and David Ferrer, they had two of the greatest clay court players of all time.
Argentina too had two great players in Juan Martin Del Potro and David Nalbandian. Del Potro had won the US Open title in 2009 and had just recovered from an injury. The scoreline read 2-1 in favour of Spain after the third match.
The fourth match saw Nadal take on Del Potro for a crucial encounter. It was a titanic battle, with Del Potro pushing Nadal hard on his beloved surface. In the first set, Del Potro absolutely demolished Nadal, hitting huge forehands to all corners of the court. He beat Nadal 6-1 on clay! Nobody had ever treated Nadal this way on clay.
Nadal recovered to win the next two sets. The fourth set saw another great effort from Del Potro, who clawed his way back from a break down to take it to a tie-breaker. Nadal finally won it in the tie-break,enabling Spain to win the title. It was a truly herculean effort from the Spanish warrior against a spirited opponent.
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