1900 International Lawn Tennis Challenge

The 1900 International Lawn Tennis Challenge was the first edition of what is now known as the Davis Cup.

History [edit]

The tournament was conceived in 1899^[1] by four members of the Harvard University tennis team who came up with the idea of challenging the British to a tennis competition. Once the idea received the go-ahead from the United States Lawn Tennis Association and the British Lawn Tennis Association, Dwight F. Davis,^[2] one of the four Harvard players,^[3] designed a tournament format and spent money from his own pocket to purchase an appropriate sterling silver trophy from Shreve, Crump & Low. The first match between the United States and the British Isles was held at the Longwood Cricket Club in Boston, Massachusetts in 1900. The American team, of which Davis was a part, won the first three matches and the Challenge.^[3]

Teams [edit]

United States [edit]

Dwight Davis: A left-hander who possessed the twist serve, backing this up with steady ground strokes and volleys. In 1899 Davis won the Intercollegiate and US National Doubles Championships with Ward.^[4]

Holcombe Ward: A right-hander and credited with originating the twist serve. He won the Intercollegiate and US National Doubles Championships with Davis in 1899.^[5]

Malcolm Whitman: A right-hander who appeared in the quarterfinals of the 1896 and 1897 US National Championships and won in 1898, defeating Dwight F. Davis in the all-comers final and receiving the title because 1897 champion Robert Wrenn was fighting in the Spanish-American War. Prior to the Challenge he had placed in the U.S. Top 10 three times, and was ranked No. 1 in 1898 and 1899.^[5]

British Isles [edit]

Ernest Black

Arthur Gore: A right-hander who appeared in the semifinals of the 1898 Wimbledon Championships, the Challenge Round of the 1899 Championships – losing to Reginald Doherty – and the all-comers final of the 1900 Championships, losing to Sydney Smith.^[6]

Herbert Roper Barrett: A right-hander who appeared in the semifinals of the 1899 Wimbledon Championships and the quarterfinals of the 1900 Championships.^[6] He also teamed with Harold Nisbet to reach the Challenge Round in the doubles at the latter Championships, losing to Laurence and Reginald Doherty.^[7]

Result [edit]

United States
3

Longwood Cricket Club, Boston, Massachusetts, United States^[8]
8–10 August 1900^[1]^[2]^[3]
Grass

British Isles
0

		1	2	3	4
1	Dwight Davis Ernest Black	4 6	6 2	6 4	6 4	^[8]
2	Malcolm Whitman Arthur Gore	6 1	6 3	6 2		^[8]
3	Dwight Davis / Holcombe Ward Ernest Black / Herbert Roper Barrett	6 4	6 4	6 4		^[8]
4	Dwight Davis Arthur Gore	9 7	9 9			not completed^[8]
5	Malcolm Whitman Ernest Black					not played^[8]

References [edit]

^ ^a ^b "Davis Cup History". Davis Cup. Archived from the original on 22 December 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
^ ^a ^b Newman, Paul (2009-03-09). "The Ten Best Davis Cup Moments". The Independent. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Davis Cup competition established". History. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
^ Trengove, Alan (1985). The Story of the Davis Cup. Century Hutchinson Publishing. p. 22. ISBN 0-09-159860-5.
^ ^a ^b Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New Chapter Press. p. 640. ISBN 978-0-942257-41-0.
^ ^a ^b Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New Chapter Press. p. 408. ISBN 978-0-942257-41-0.
^ Collins, Bud (2008). The Bud Collins History of Tennis: An Authoritative Encyclopedia and Record Book. New Chapter Press. p. 427. ISBN 978-0-942257-41-0.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Davis Cup - Tie details - 1900 - USA v British Isles". ITF. Retrieved 2011-04-22.