Australia Davis Cup team
Template:DavisCupinfobox The Australian Davis Cup team is the second most successful team ever to compete in the Davis Cup, winning the coveted title on 23 separate occasions, second behind the United States with 32.
Australia also participated in winning the Davis Cup five times with New Zealand under the alias 'Australasia' (1905-1914).
History
The beginning
Australia won the Davis Cup in 1919 and has since played in 41 Davis Cup finals (including 1919) as of 2008, winning on 23 occasions.
Australia also participated in six finals with New Zealand under the alias 'Australasia' winning on five occasions in 1907, 1908, 1909, 1911 and 1914. In six Davis Cup Finals in which Australia and New Zealand competed together under the alias 'Australasia' there were 27 rubbers played, with Australian players winning 12.5 rubbers and losing 4.5 and New Zealand players winning 7.5 rubbers and losing 2.5 (according to information supplied in Wikipedia).
Australia and New Zealand have always been two separate countries, however the two countries did compete together under the alias 'Australasia' in a number of sports including Davis Cup in the first couple of decades of the 20th century.
Dominance
From the era of 1937 to 1973 the only teams to win the Davis Cup were Australia and USA, in which 35 times were between one another. Australia won the Davis Cup title 16 times between these years in 1939, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1973.
Present
After the 1973 victory Australia would go on to win the title another five times; between 1999 and 2003 Australia got into the Final Round four times in 5 years but could only convert on these opportunities twice in 1999 and 2003.
In 2003 after an inspirational semifinal against Switzerland where Lleyton Hewitt came back from two sets to love down against Roger Federer to win in five sets in the fourth rubber, to clinch a Davis Cup Final berth. In the Final, Australia defeated Spain 3-1 in front of a home crowd in Melbourne Park in which Mark Philippoussis defeated Juan Carlos Ferrero in five sets just months after Ferrero had reached the world number one ranking spot.
After Australia's 2003 win over Spain, Australia came into the 2004 Davis Cup with high hopes but the dreams were crushed when Sweden managed to beat Australia at home 4-1. Australia then had to play a world group qualifying match against Morocco which they won 4-1. Australia solidified their spot in the 2005 Davis Cup world group and breezed through their first round against Austria 5-0. Argentina was their next round opponents and Australia started off well with Lleyton Hewitt playing Guillermo Coria and in a shocking display of sportsmanship Hewitt won in four sets in front of a home crowd in Sydney. But Australia could not hold the lead and ended up losing the rest of their matches.
Australia came into the 2006 Davis Cup with virtually an unknown team comprising Shannon Johnson and Peter Luczak playing singles for Australia. Australia managed to defeat Switzerland 3-2 in the fifth rubber. Australia's quarterfinal was against Belarus in Melbourne and with Australia having Lleyton Hewitt back in the team Peter Luczak was the unlucky one that was not named in the team Shannon Johnson opened the first day of singles and pulled an upset against the highly ranked Max Mirnyi in five sets. Australia celebrated after the second day after winning all matches and securing a semifinal spot the first team to do so. Australia then went on to win the reverse singles making statement with a 5-0 victory over Belarus. Australia suffered a huge 5-0 loss to Argentina in the semifinals.
The 2007 Davis Cup could not have been any worse for Australia playing away in Belgium in their first tie against Belgium, losing their first two rubber Australia faced do or die in the doubles. Lleyton Hewitt was able to win both the doubles and his fourth rubber singles matches to bring the tie back to two all. Chris Guccione then lost in straight sets to put Australia in the world group playoffs. Australia drew Serbia in Serbia for their world group playoff and Serbia, having two of their singles players in the top 100, were clear favorites. After day one the tie was drawn at one all Australia lost their doubles match in four sets and looked in a bad position. Things only got worse for Australia as their top player Lleyton Hewitt came down with sickness and could not compete in the final day. Australia eventually ended up losing 4-1 overall, seeing Serbia into the world group for the first time; the result also saw Australia relegated for only the second time.
The 2008 Davis Cup saw Australia playing away for the fourth consecutive time, playing in Chinese Taipei. Australia beat Chinese Taipei 4-1 and were awarded a home 2nd Round rubber for the first time in almost two years. Australian easily accounted for Thailand winning the rubber 5-0. Australia then advanced to the world group playoffs where they were drawn to play away against Chile. Chile raced out to a 2-0 lead before Chris Guccione and Carsten Ball were able to bring the tie back to 2-1 after winning the doubles match. However in the 4th match Fernando González defeated Guccione in the reverse singles match to secure the tie. Australia managed to win the remaining dead rubber, with Chile winning the tie 3-2.
The 2009 Davis Cup saw a rematch of last year's second round match against Thailand. This time, Australia had to travel away and won 3-2, only securing the tie in the final rubber. For the second round match-up, Australia was drawn to play away against India. However due to security concerns in Chennai, Australia refused to play the tie in India, requesting the tie be played in a neutral country. After this request was denied, Australia withdrew from playing, so India advanced to the World Group Playoffs via forfeit.
The 2010 Davis Cup was a breeze for Australia in the Asia/Oceania playoffs, easily advancing to the World Group Playoffs. 5-0 defeats of Chinese Taipei in the first round in Melbourne and Japan in the second round in Brisbane led to Australia being drawn to play a home tie against Belgium. Played in hot and humid conditions in North Cairns, Australia led 2-1 after the doubles match. Lleyton Hewitt's win in the doubles match gave him the most wins by an Australian in Davis Cup history. After a five and a half hour rain delay, the reverse singles finally got under way, before being suspended midway through the first set. With Hewitt pulling out of his reverse singles match, Peter Luczak and Carsten Ball were unable to hold onto Australia's lead, going down to Belgium 3-2.
For the fourth year in a row, Australia started its 2011 Davis Cup campaign in the Asia/Oceania playoffs. After receiving a first round bye, Australia played away to China in the second round, whom they defeated 3-1. Australia's win now guarantees them a place in the World Group Playoff and another chance to return to the World Group in 2012.
Australia's historic Davis Cup rivalry with the United States of America
Australia and USA have played each other in the Davis Cup final on 29 different occasions. Having both teams dominate the competition for 36 years, Australia and USA had an intense rivalry in Davis Cup. In recent years the rivalry has waned, while the two teams have not played each other since 1999.
Current team
Trivia and records
- Along with the Australian Davis Cup Team winning the Davis Cup in 1999, Australia became the only country to win three of four team competitions in the same year. In 1999 Australia won the Davis Cup, World Team Championship and the Hopman Cup. The only team competition Australia did not win in 1999 was the women's Fed Cup.
- Australia completed a rare feat in 1986 when they won both the Davis Cup and the Junior Davis Cup.
- Australia won both the junior Davis Cup and Fed Cup in 2007.
See also
External links
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