The old and famous tennis competition “Coupe Davis” returns to Algeria, after a 19-year absence from its organization in our country.
Algeria will host this competition for the Africa region, from August 10 to 13, on the Bach Jarrah tennis court in the capital. In addition to Algeria, 7 African teams will be present, representing Benin, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe. As indicated in a press release published by the Algerian Tennis Federation on Tuesday.
The Davis Cup is the most prestigious of the annual international men’s team tennis competitions. Created in 1900 by Dwight Davis, it is managed by the International Tennis Federation. Initially called the International Lawn Tennis Challenge (literally: “international lawn tennis challenge”), it initially opposed only Great Britain and the United States and only opened up to other nations from of 1904.
Dwight Davis
Davis Cup history is rich and interesting. What started off as a challenge by Harvard students to their British counterparts in 1900 has now turned into one of the foremostmen’s tennis Events.
Dwight F Davis designed the tournament format. He also personally paid for the now world-famous sterling silver Davis Cup, also foundly dubbed “Dwight’s Pot”.
Initially Known as the international Lawn Tennis Challenge, the tournament was renamed the Davis Cup after the death of Davis in 1945. In the first tournament held at the Longwood Club in Boston, Massachusetts over 100 years ago, the American Team, including Dwight Davis, caused a bit of an upset by winning the first three matches.
The tournament was not contested the following year, but in 1902 the Americans held on to their lead. By 1905, France, Belgium, Austria and Australasia (a combined New Zealand and Australian team) had joined the competition. The tournament has however, been dominated by the USA (31 wins) and Australia (28 wins) since its inception.
Between 1927 and 1932, the French team of Rene Lacoste, Jacques Brugnon, Henri Cochet and Jean Borotra – better known as “The Four Musketreers” – took six consecutive wins. In 1939, the title was wrestled away from the French team by British tennis legend Fred Perry and his team.
In 1970, 50 nations joined the Davis Cup. 1974 saw some high drama when India refused to take the court against South Africa because of its then apartheid policy. As a result, South Africa won the final without having to hit a ball.
By 1993, 100 nations were competing in the Davis Cup and by 2001, a record 142 nations were competing. Over the 107 years of the Davis Cup history, some of the greatest tennis champions in the world have represented their countries in the tournament. Some of the greats associated with the Davis Cup are Andre Agassi, Guy Forget, John McEnroe, Pete Sampras, Lew Hoad, Ken Rosewall, Rod Laver and Fred Perry.
Translated from https://topdestinationsalgerie.com/coupe-davis-lancienne-et-celebre-competition-de-tennis-revient-en-algerie/
And https://www.daviscupaustralia.com.au/dwight-davis/
