The Davis Cup: An International Tennis Extravaganza
In the world of tennis there are many great tournaments; Wimbledon, the US Open and the Australian Open all come to mind. But there is a truly international tennis event that is just as good as the rest. The Davis Cup is a unique tournament in tennis and is also a very exciting one. Even though tennis is already a very international event with talented players from all over the world competing together; the Davis Cup is the only tournament where countries battle it out against each other. The Davis Cup is like the World Cup of tennis and sees many countries being represented from all over the world.
The tournament was started in 1900 by a man named Dwight Davis. He wanted to start a tennis tournament that would bring about the concept of cooperation between countries through tennis. That first year, with the tournament still in its nascent stages, only two countries competed, (BNP Paribas, 2010). Today 133 countries compete in this truly international tennis event. Over the years the tournament grew and became more popular and soon Dwight's dream was realised; to see a tennis tournament where countries came together and forgot their differences and just enjoyed some great tennis.
Over the years some very memorable events have taken place in the Davis Cup. The USA has won the most number of titles with 32, Britain has been present at every single Davis Cup since it started and the best performance by an unseeded team was in 2005 by Croatia that went on to win the title that year, (ITF Licensing, 2010). The individual performances were just as impressive with Bjorn Borg of Sweden having a consecutive run of a 33 match winning streak. The youngest ever player to compete in a Davis Cup match was the 13 year old Mohammed-Akhtar Hossain, who was representing Bangladesh.
What is truly amazing about the Davis Cup is the sheer number of countries that take part. Bangladesh is one, as is Sweden and many other countries that people would not even think that play tennis. It shows the international appeal of the game and the skill and talent that is hidden in corners in remote places around the world, just waiting to be found. It is a great aspect of the Cup that it highlights talented players from diverse places and opens up the world through tennis and breaks down barriers and promotes understanding and goodwill.
This year's tournament has been as exciting as any previous one that preceded it. Major upsets and great matches have been the order of the day. The world champion's Spain were knocked out in the quarterfinals by France, (Agence France Presse, 2010). Spain were playing without their best player Rafael Nadal, who is resting after winning Wimbledon and France were similarly playing without Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is out with a knee injury. The two teams were neck and neck until France took over and overpowered the champions.
On the other hand, the other quarterfinal was won between Argentina and Serbia and they will meet France and the Czech Republic in the semifinals. Argentina beat Russia to advance while the Czech Republic beat Chile to advance, (The Associated Press, 2010). The Davis Cup saw some great victories when individual players shone to take their countries through to the next round. The great thing about this year's tournament and every Davis Cup tournament is that players play for glory of country rather than self glory. This has a similar effect to the World Cup of football when passion and nationalistic pride take over and people exhibit a sense of pride for country over individual pride.
The Davis Cup has a world wide appeal and brings people together from all over the globe. It is instrumental in breaking down cultural barriers and differences between countries. More events on this scale should be introduced in many different sports to promote the aspect of sports being used as a vehicle for good in the world. The fact that the Davis Cup is a very entertaining sporting event just boosts its appeal and helps to enhance its message. In the future we will definitely see more events of this sort taking place.
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