Davis Cup Debut!
This Sunday in 1900 saw the birth of tennis's Davis Cup - the Largest annual team sport competition, The 2006 competition had 133 countries enter - one less than the previous year. The women's equivalent of the Davis Cup is the ITF's Fed Cup, itself the largest female annual team sporting event with 89 countries represented in 2006. Here are some ‘smashing’ records:
Most consecutive Davis cup wins
The most consecutive Davis Cup tournament wins is seven by USA 1920-26. Their reign was brought to an end by France in 1927 who went on to keep the title for six years, the second longest winning streak, before losing to Great Britain in 1933.
Highest attendance for a tennis match
A record 30,472 people were at the Astrodome, Houston, Texas, USA for the 'Battle of the Sexes' on 20 September 1973, when Billie-Jean King beat Robert Larimore Riggs (both USA). The record for an orthodox tennis match was set during the 2004 Davis Cup final (3-5 December) between the USA and Spain in Seville's La Cartuja Olympic Stadium, Spain, which attracted about 26,600 spectators, beating the previous record of 25,578 at the Davis Cup final in 1954 in Sydney, Australia.
Most Davis cup appearances
The most Davis Cup appearances by an individual player is 164 matches in 66 ties by Nicola Pietrangeli (Italy) from 1954 to 1972. His win-loss record for singles is 78-32 and for doubles 42-12.
Oldest Davis Cup player
The oldest player to play in the Davis Cup is Yaka-Garonfin Koptigan (Togo) aged 59 years and 147 days on 27 May 2001 against Mauritius.
Youngest Davis Cup player
The youngest player to play in the Davis Cup is Kenny Banzer (Liechtenstein) at the age of 14 years 5 days on 16 February 2000 against Algeria.
07 February 2008