If Davis knew that his tennis tournament would become so important, he would have made a cup of gold
In 1899, Dwight Philly Davis became the winner of the United States tennis tournament in singles among college students. In the summer of the same year, he and Harvard tennis players held friendly matches with the best tennis players in California, and, being amazed at the enthusiasm with which the public attended this tournament, he offered to hold international tennis competitions.
His idea was supported by the American National Association of Lawn Tennis and Davis spent $ 750 of his own to produce an elegant silver trophy for the future winner of international competitions.
The call of Davis was accepted by Great Britain, the strongest tennis state of the world of that time, and on August 8, 1900, three Englishmen arrived at the Longwood Cricket Club in Brooklyn to compete with a team of top tennis players from Harvard University.
According to the protocol, developed by Davis and still preserved, the three-day competition consisted of two single meetings, a pair and then again two single ones. However, due to heavy rain, the last two program competitions could not be held. The Americans Malcolm Whitman, Dwight Davis and Holcomb Ward won with a score of 3:0 in three competitions.
Since 1902, the world team championship among men's teams, which was called the Davis Cup, began to be held annually. It was not conducted only in 1901, 1910, 1915-18 and 1940-45.
In 1902, the English for the first time won the Davis Cup; Belgium and France joined the tournament in 1904, and Australia and New Zealand joined the tournament in 1905, playing as a team under the name Australasia. Only in 1913, the Americans managed to return the Cup to the United States.
After finishing his sports career, Dwight Davis went into politics, in 1920 he unsuccessfully ran for the Senate, was a member of the government in 1923-25, and from 1929 to 1933 - the governor of the Philippines.
Today, the Davis Cup is a prestigious international team tennis tournament, which is held annually with the participation of dozens of teams. Shortly before his death in 1945, Davis, commenting on the growing prestige of the tournament he had founded, said: “If I knew that he [the tournament] would have acquired such a value, I would have made a cup of gold, not silver.”
His idea was supported by the American National Association of Lawn Tennis and Davis spent $ 750 of his own to produce an elegant silver trophy for the future winner of international competitions.
The call of Davis was accepted by Great Britain, the strongest tennis state of the world of that time, and on August 8, 1900, three Englishmen arrived at the Longwood Cricket Club in Brooklyn to compete with a team of top tennis players from Harvard University.
According to the protocol, developed by Davis and still preserved, the three-day competition consisted of two single meetings, a pair and then again two single ones. However, due to heavy rain, the last two program competitions could not be held. The Americans Malcolm Whitman, Dwight Davis and Holcomb Ward won with a score of 3:0 in three competitions.
Photo © jnsm.com.ua
Since 1902, the world team championship among men's teams, which was called the Davis Cup, began to be held annually. It was not conducted only in 1901, 1910, 1915-18 and 1940-45.
In 1902, the English for the first time won the Davis Cup; Belgium and France joined the tournament in 1904, and Australia and New Zealand joined the tournament in 1905, playing as a team under the name Australasia. Only in 1913, the Americans managed to return the Cup to the United States.
After finishing his sports career, Dwight Davis went into politics, in 1920 he unsuccessfully ran for the Senate, was a member of the government in 1923-25, and from 1929 to 1933 - the governor of the Philippines.
Today, the Davis Cup is a prestigious international team tennis tournament, which is held annually with the participation of dozens of teams. Shortly before his death in 1945, Davis, commenting on the growing prestige of the tournament he had founded, said: “If I knew that he [the tournament] would have acquired such a value, I would have made a cup of gold, not silver.”
