Australia Davis Cup team

Australia
Captain	Patrick Rafter
Coach	Tony Roche
ITF ranking	24
Colors	green and gold
First year	1919 (1905 as Australasia)
Years played	88
Ties played (W–L)	230 (170–60)
Years in World Group	26 (46–22)
Davis Cup titles	29^
Runners-up	19
Most total wins	Lleyton Hewitt (44–12)
Most singles wins	Lleyton Hewitt (29–8)
Most doubles wins	Todd Woodbridge (25–7)
Best doubles team	Mark Woodforde/Todd Woodbridge (14–2)
Most ties played	Todd Woodbridge (32)
Most years played	Todd Woodbridge (14)

The Australian Davis Cup team is the second most successful team ever to compete in the Davis Cup, winning the coveted title on 29 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.

The only decades that the team didn't win the Davis Cup was the 20's, 40's and the current decade. Australia were runner's up 8 times during the 20's and 40's.

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.

In 2006, Australia managed to defeat Switzerland 3–2 in the fifth rubber in the first round. Australia's quarterfinal was against Belarus in Melbourne and with Australia having Lleyton Hewitt back in the team, with Peter Luczak omitted. 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 then advanced to the 2011 Davis Cup World Group Play-offs where they received a home tie against seeded Switzerland. Played on grass at the Royal Sydney Golf Club in Sydney, Australia, Australia led 2–1 after victories by Tomic over Wawrinka in the singles and by Hewitt and Guccione in the doubles. However in the 1st reverse singles Tomic lost to Federer, tying the play-off at 2–2. In the decisive rubber Hewitt trailed 5–3 in the 5th set against Stanislas Wawrinka when play was suspended due to bad light. When play resumed the following morning, Hewitt was unable to hold serve as Switzerland won the tie 3–2. With Youngers like Tomic (inside top 40) and Ebden (inside top 100), the future of the Australian Davis Cup team is looking bright.

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 squad

Player information and rankings as of January 30, 2012

Squad representing Australia vs. China (2012 Asia/Oceania Group 1 First Round)

Player	ATP Ranking	Years Played	Total W-L	Singles W-L	Doubles W-L
Matthew Ebden	#85 (Singles)	0 ()	0–0	0–0	0–0
Chris Guccione	#135 (Doubles)	7 (2005–2009, 2011–)	12–6	8–6	4–0
Lleyton Hewitt	#131 (Singles)	15 (1999–)	47–14	37–11	10–3
Bernard Tomic	#34 (Singles)	3 (2010–)	4-1	4-1	0–0

Recent performances

Here is the list of all match-ups since 1981, when the competition started being held in the current World Group format.

1980s

Year	Competition	Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Result
1981	World Group, 1st Round	6–8 Mar	Lyon (FRA)	France	3–2	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	10–12 Jul	Båstad (SWE)	Sweden	3–1	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	2–4 Oct	Portland (USA)	United States	0–5	Loss
1982	World Group, 1st Round	5–7 Mar	Mexico City (MEX)	Mexico	3–2	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	9–11 Jul	Brisbane (AUS)	Chile	4–1	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	1–3 Oct	Perth (AUS)	United States	0–5	Loss
1983	World Group, 1st Round	6-8 Mar	Adelaide (AUS)	Great Britain	4–1	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	8–10 Jul	Brisbane (AUS)	Romania	5–0	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	30 Sep–2 Oct	Sydney (AUS)	France	4–1	Win
	World Group, Final	26-28 Dec	Melbourne (AUS)	Sweden	3–2	Champion
1984	World Group, 1st Round	24–26 Feb	Perth (AUS)	Yugoslavia	5–0	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	13–15 Jul	Brisbane (AUS)	Italy	5–0	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	28–30 Sep	Portland (USA)	United States	1–4	Loss
1985	World Group, 1st Round	8-10 Mar	Split (YUG)	Yugoslavia	3–2	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	2–4 Jul	Sydney (AUS)	Paraguay	3–2	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	4-6 Oct	Malmo (SWE)	Sweden	0–5	Loss
1986	World Group, 1st Round	7-8 Mar	Auckland (NZL)	New Zealand	4–1	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	18–20 Jul	Wimbledon (GBR)	Great Britain	4–1	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	3-5 Oct	Brisbane (AUS)	United States	3–1	Win
	World Group, Final	26-28 Dec	Melbourne (AUS)	Sweden	3–2	Champion
1987	World Group, 1st Round	13-15 Mar	Adelaide (AUS)	Yugoslavia	4–1	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	24–26 Jul	Brisbane (AUS)	Mexico	4–1	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	4-6 Oct	Sydney (AUS)	India	2–3	Loss
1988	World Group, 1st Round	5-8 Feb	Mexico City (MEX)	Mexico	3–2	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	8-10 Apr	Clermont-Ferrand (FRA)	France	0–5	Loss
1989	World Group, 1st Round	3-5 Feb	Vienna (AUT)	Austria	0–5	Loss
	World Group Playoffs	21-24 Jul	Lima (PER)	Peru	3–2	Win

1990s

Year	Competition	Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Result
1990	World Group, 1st Round	4–6 Feb	Perth (AUS)	France	3–2	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	1–3 Apr	Brisbane (AUS)	New Zealand	3–2	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	23–25 Sep	Sydney (AUS)	Argentina	5–0	Win
	World Group, Final	2–4 Dec	St Petersburg (USA)	United States	5–0	Runner-up
1991	World Group, 1st Round	1–3 Feb	Perth (AUS)	Belgium	5–0	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	5-7 May	Nimes (FRA)	France	2–3	Loss
1992	World Group, 1st Round	2–4 Feb	Nicosia (CYP)	Yugoslavia	5–0	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	29-31 Mar	Lund (SWE)	Sweden	0–5	Loss
1993	World Group, 1st Round	28–30 Mar	Melbourne (AUS)	United States	4–1	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	18-20 Jul	Florence (ITA)	Italy	3–2	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	26–28 Sep	Chandigarh (IND)	India	5–0	Win
	World Group, Final	5–7 Dec	Dusseldorf (GER)	Germany	1–4	Runner-up
1994	World Group, 1st Round	25–27 Mar	St Petersburg (RUS)	Russia	1–4	Loss
	World Group Playoffs	23-25 Sep	Christchurch (NZL)	New Zealand	4–1	Win
1995	World Group, 1st Round	3–6 Feb	Durban (RSA)	South Africa	2–3	Loss
	World Group Playoffs	22-24 Sep	Budapest (HUN)	Hungary	2–3	Loss
1996	Asia/Oceania Group I, 1st Round	9–11 Feb	Melbourne (AUS)	Chinese Taipei	3–0	Win
	Asia/Oceania Group I, Semifinals	5-7 Apr	Osaka (JPN)	Japan	5–0	Win
	World Group Playoffs	20-22 Sep	Split (CRO)	Croatia	4-1	Win
1997	World Group, 1st Round	7–9 Feb	Sydney (AUS)	France	4–1	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	4-6 Apr	Adelaide (AUS)	Czech Republic	5–0	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	19–21 Sep	Washington D.C. (USA)	United States	1–4	Loss
1998	World Group, 1st Round	5–7 Apr	Mildura (AUS)	Zimbabwe	2–3	Loss
	World Group Playoffs	27-29 Sep	Townsville (AUS)	Uzbekistan	5–0	Win
1999	World Group, 1st Round	4–6 Apr	Harare (ZIM)	Zimbabwe	4–1	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	18–20 Jul	Chestnut Hill (USA)	United States	4–1	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	26–28 Sep	Brisbane (AUS)	Russia	4–1	Win
	World Group, Final	5–7 Dec	Nice (FRA)	France	3–2	Champion

2000s

Year	Competition	Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Result
2000	World Group, 1st Round	6–8 Feb	Zurich (SUI)	Switzerland	3–2	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	9-11 Apr	Adelaide (AUS)	Germany	3–2	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	16-18 Jul	Brisbane (AUS)	Brazil	5–0	Win
	World Group, Final	10-12 Dec	Barcelona (ESP)	Spain	1–3	Runner-up
2001	World Group, 1st Round	9–11 Feb	Perth (AUS)	Ecuador	4–1	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	6–8 Apr	Florianopolis (BRA)	Brazil	3–1	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	21–23 Sep	Sydney (AUS)	Sweden	4–1	Win
	World Group, Final	30 Nov–2 Dec	Melbourne (AUS)	France	2–3	Runner-up
2002	World Group, 1st Round	10–12 Feb	Buenos Aires (ARG)	Argentina	0–5	Loss
	World Group Playoffs	22–24 Sep	Adelaide (AUS)	India	5–0	Win
2003	World Group, 1st Round	9–11 Feb	Sydney (AUS)	Great Britain	4–1	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	6–8 Apr	Malmo (SWE)	Sweden	5–0	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	21–23 Sep	Melbourne (AUS)	Switzerland	3–2	Win
	World Group, Final	30 Nov–2 Dec	Melbourne (AUS)	Spain	3–1	Champion
2004	World Group, 1st Round	8–10 Feb	Adelaide (AUS)	Sweden	1–4	Loss
	World Group Playoffs	26–28 Sep	Perth (AUS)	Morocco	4–1	Win
2005	World Group, 1st Round	6–8 Mar	Sydney (AUS)	Austria	5–0	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	17–19 Jul	Sydney (AUS)	Argentina	1-4	Loss
2006	World Group, 1st Round	12–14 Feb	Geneva (SUI)	Switzerland	3–2	Win
	World Group, Quarterfinals	9–11 Apr	Melbourne (AUS)	Belarus	5-0	Win
	World Group, Semifinals	24–26 Sep	Buenos Aires (ARG)	Argentina	0-5	Loss
2007	World Group, 1st Round	11–13 Feb	Liege (BEL)	Belgium	2–3	Loss
	World Group Playoffs	23–25 Sep	Belgrade (SRB)	Serbia	1–4	Loss
2008	Asia/Oceania Group I, 1st Round	8–10 Feb	Kaohsiung (TPE)	Chinese Taipei	4–1	Win
	Asia/Oceania Group I, Semifinals	13-15 Apr	Townsville (AUS)	Thailand	5–0	Win
	World Group Playoffs	21-23 Sep	Antofagasta (CHI)	Chile	2–3	Loss
2009	Asia/Oceania Group I, Quarterfinals	8–10 Mar	Nonthaburi (THA)	Thailand	3–2	Win
	Asia/Oceania Group I, Semifinals	10-12 May	Chennai (IND)	India	W/O	Forfeit

2010s

Year	Competition	Date	Location	Opponent	Score	Result
2010	Asia/Oceania Group I, 1st Round	5–7 Mar	Melbourne (AUS)	Chinese Taipei	5–0	Win
	Asia/Oceania Group I, Semifinals	7-9 May	Brisbane (AUS)	Japan	5–0	Win
	World Group Playoffs	19-21 Sep	Cairns (AUS)	Belgium	2–3	Loss
2011	Asia/Oceania Group I, Semifinal	8–10 Jul	Beijing (CHN)	China	3–1	Win
	World Group Playoffs	16–18 Sep	Sydney (AUS)	Switzerland	2–3	Loss
2012	Asia/Oceania Group I, 1st Round	10–12 Feb	Geelong (AUS)	China

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

• Davis Cup
• Australia Fed Cup team

External links

• Team page on DavisCup.com