The 2009 Davis Cup Final begins Friday in Barcelona as Spain plays host to the Czech Republic. As part of the countdown to the final, WorldTennisMagazine.com is presenting a special look at some of the best moments in the history of the Davis Cup, courtesy of the book ON THIS DAY IN TENNIS HISTORY ($19.95, New Chapter Press, www.TennisHistoryBook.com). Each day, WorldTennisMagazine.com will present the anniversaries of some of the best matches from the event.
ON THIS DAY IN TENNIS HISTORY – December 3
1995 – Pete Sampras concludes one of the finest performances of his career, dominating Russia’s Yevgeny Kafelnikov 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on a clay court – his worst surface – to almost single-handedly win the 31st Davis Cup title for the United States against Russia in Moscow. Sampras, the world No. 1 and the reigning Wimbledon and U.S. Open champion, accounts for all three points in the 3-2 U.S. victory, dramatically recovering from being dragged off the court in cramps following his 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4 win over Andrei Chesnokov in the opening match of the series. The day after his epic first day heroics, Sampras returns to the court and, with Todd Martin, dominated Kafelnikov and Andrei Olhovskiy in a straight-sets doubles victory, before beating Kafelnikov to give the U.S. the match-clinching 3-1 lead. “I’ve never seen better clay court tennis,” U.S. captain Tom Gullikson says of the performance of Sampras. “The combination of power and patience and precision serving. It was flawless tennis…The great players have a sense of history. When the great players go down in the history books, not only will they be remembered by Grand Slam singles titles but how many times did they help their country win the Davis Cup.”
2006 – Russia wins the Davis Cup for the second time as former world No. 1 Marat Safin defeats Jose Acasuso 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) in the fifth and decisive match to give Russia a 3-2 win over Argentina in Moscow. Says Safin of the match-clinching victory, “I was under pressure and I was pretty scared. I didn’t want to let this cup go away…There were some very difficult moments today. It was tough to control the match. Everything worked out, thank God.” Acasuso is a substitute for Juan Ignacio Chela in the fifth match, a decision Argentine captain Alberto Mancini makes due to Acasuso’s unbeaten 2006 Davis Cup record and Acasuso having fresher legs than Safin, who enters the match having already played one singles match on Friday and in Saturday’s doubles. Says Safin, “Acasuso proved himself well. He served well and was confident on this surface, but he never played in such a match before, and my experience paid off.”