The Davis Cup is an event like no other in tennis, combining the individual on-court duels with the honour of representing your country.

It is a chance for players to etch their names in history, achieving things that they may never do as singles or doubles players. Each Davis Cup tie involves five ‘rubbers’.

Matches are split over three days, with the first two singles matches played on the first day. The second day is taken up by a doubles match and the third day is the reverse of the first set of singles matches.

If the tie has been settled by the third day, younger, less experienced members of the team will play the ‘dead rubbers’.

The United States, one of the founding members of the Davis Cup in 1900, are the most successful team in the tournament’s history with 32 victories. Australia are a close second with 28 titles.

This piece takes a look at some of the biggest shocks in Davis Cup history…

 

Colombia (2019)

The 2010s had been a decade of nearly misses for the Colombian Davis Cup team.

They might not be a familiar name in tennis betting offers and promotions, but they had made real progress in the Davis Cup, advancing to the World Group Playoffs seven times between 2010 and 2018.

The 2019 season saw Colombia go one better, qualifying for the World Group. A 4-0 victory over Sweden was an emphatic way to secure their spot in the final phase of the tournament.

 

Canada (2013)

Canada hadn’t appeared in the World Group between 2004 and 2012. Spain had won the whole thing in three of the last five years.

It was a mismatch in pedigree, but that didn’t follow on the court, with Canada toppling the favoured Spaniards 3-2. It is worth noting that Spain weren’t loaded with their stars, but their team was still held in higher regard than the Canadians.

It was Spain’s first opening round loss since 2006, and the 166th ranked player in the world, Frank Dancevic, played a major part.

Israel (2009)

The crowd in Tel Aviv shifted any tie in Israel’s favour. Hostile and cheering every point like it was clinching the tournament, it clearly played a role in Russia’s surprise loss in 2009.

Jonathan Erlich and Andy Ram aren’t the names that appear in an advanced guide to tennis doubles betting, but the pair delivered for their country on the biggest stage, defeating Marat Safin and Igor Kunitsyn to clinch the tie.

Safin and Mikhail Youzhny were by far the most well-known players in the tie, but it didn’t matter to the Israeli team as they cruised to victory. It ranks as one of the greatest Davis Cup shocks ever.

 

Great Britain (2016)

With Andy Murray leading the way and a fierce home crowd in Glasgow, Great Britain were fancied to pass Argentina and make it to the Davis Cup final.

Murray faced the talented Juan Martin del Potro in the first rubber, and took a two sets to one lead. The tennis betting must’ve looked good for Murray at that stage.

Murray succumbed to a five-set loss. Kyle Edmund lost the second rubber. The Murray brothers kept hopes alive with a win in the doubles, and Murray made it 2-2 with a win in his second singles match.

Unfortunately it wasn’t to be for the Brits, as Daniel Evans fell to Leonardo Mayer in the crucial fifth match.

 

Kazakhstan (2011)

Prior to their 2011 meeting with the Czech Republic, Kazakhstan had never made it to the World Group.

Not only did they beat Tomas Berdych’s team, they had to do it from 2-1 down after Berdych stepped up to win his singles match and clinch the doubles.

It turned on its head after that, however, with Berdych falling to Andrey Golubev and Mikhail Kukushkin winning the decider. The Kazakhs followed up with quarter-final appearances in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2018.

Zimbabwe (2001)

Australia won the Davis Cup in 2002, and Zimbabwe haven’t appeared in the World Group since 2001.

It makes the story all the more remarkable as Wayne and Byron Black produced the performances of their lives to topple the Australians.

The brothers were the only two players on the team and had to come back from 2-1. Both of them played out of their skin in the reverse singles matches to produce one of the great upsets.

 

Belgium (2015)

Coming into the World Group unseeded, Belgium were dark horses for the 2015 Davis Cup.

A first-round victory over the second-seed Swiss was just the start of their run. The next round saw a 5-0 drubbing of Canada with the Belgians dropping just two sets across the whole match.

An epic came next, Belgium seeing Steve Darcis win the fifth rubber to seal their first trip to the final since 1904. It wasn’t a fairy tale ending, however, as the Brits lifted the trophy.

 

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*Credit for the main photo belongs to Thibault Camus / AP Photo*

Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.