Longwood Cricket Club - Davis Cup

Davis Cup

In 1900 Dwight Davis, then a fourth-year student at nearby Harvard University, arranged for a British team to visit Longwood and compete for what became the first Davis Cup, branded the International Lawn Tennis Challenge. The Davis-captained Americans won the inaugural contest 3–0.

In total, 15 Davis Cup ties have been settled at Longwood. The British Isles defeated the Americans 4–1 in the 1903 final. The 1908 semi-final saw the Americans reverse their fortunes and prevail by the same score. The next eight ties played at Longwood did not involve the American team. 1914 saw Australia defeat Britain 3–0 in a semi-final. 1922 through 1925 saw a tie played a year with Australasia defeating France 4–1 in a quarterfinal encounter in 1922, Australia beating France by the same score in a 1923 semi-final and in 1924, but by a 3–2 scoreline, and Australia defeating Japan 4–1 in 1925. After France swept Japan 5–0 in a 1927 semi-final, the Davis Cup would not return to Longwood for 11 years, with Australia defeating Nazi Germany 5–0 in the 1938 semi-final. A further decade would elapse before in 1948 Australia won another semi, this time over Czechoslovakia, 3–1. In 1957, the U.S. team returned to Brookline to defeat Brazil 5–0 in a 3rd round tie. Two years later saw Australia dispatch with India 4–1 in the penultimate round.

Another 40 years would pass before in 1999, Australia, led by Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt defeated the U.S., led by Pete Sampras, 4–1 in a quarterfinal tie played on hard courts. This was the last time a top-flight professional tennis match was played at Longwood.