While I haven't enjoyed the Federation / Fed / BJK Cup as much as the Davis Cup over the years, not helped by the fact that it has undergone more frequent formatting changes, and has been more prone to periods of domination by one particular team, whether it was the USA, Spain, Russia, Czech Republic etc., I still have plenty of memories from the competition.
1986 - Navratilova's first return to Czechoslovakia since her defection in 1975. It was an emotionally charged week on and off the court. Navratilova received a very warm welcome, and Evert spoke about she and the US team really wanted to make it a wonderful homecoming for her. The organisers and local officials tried to downplay Navratilova's welcome, including putting Russia vs. Bulgaria on centre court instead of the USA vs. China. Fans with centre court tickets had their backs turned to the action, trying to watch the USA tie with Navratilova instead.
1991 - I went to Nottingham to watch this live; it was very well attended (British fans are generally very good at turning up for sporting events). ASV and Martinez, both still teenagers at the time, led Spain to their first ever title, as they dominated the competition during the 90s. ASV won every singles and doubles match that she played. The 15 year old Capriati was there and spearheaded the USA's run to the final where she beat Martinez. Unsurprisingly though, Princess Diana being there was clearly the main event.
1998 - I really wanted to Switzerland to beat Spain on home soil in the final, not least because I didn't want to see Spain winning the competition yet again in the 90s. Hingis put them 2-1 up, and Schnyder then had the opportunity to secure the title. But Martinez (who she had a hilarious feud with at Charleston in 2004) beat her 9-7 in the 3rd set of the rubber (Schnyder did win 4 games in a row in the final set from 0-3 down so had momentum), before teaming up with ASV to win the crucial doubles rubber.
2005 - Dementieva single handedly won the final for Russia away to France at Roland Garros, as they successfully defended their title. As Mauresmo fan, her match against Dementieva in the 3rd rubber was another example of her struggling to deal with the pressure of an expectant home crowd at Roland Garros. Dementieva certainly thrived when representing Russia.
2008 - The Israel vs. Russia tie, antics of the crowd with Peer clearly trying to encourage them, and the hilarious reactions to that all by Sharapova and Chakvetadze during and after their respective decisive wins on the 2nd day. I will say though that a rowdy, not especially well behaved but non violent / threatening crowd, is still better than a sparse crowd with a lot of empty seats - there have been plenty examples of the letter in tennis and in-particular in women's tennis including in this competition over the years.
What are your favourite memories from this competition?
1986 - Navratilova's first return to Czechoslovakia since her defection in 1975. It was an emotionally charged week on and off the court. Navratilova received a very warm welcome, and Evert spoke about she and the US team really wanted to make it a wonderful homecoming for her. The organisers and local officials tried to downplay Navratilova's welcome, including putting Russia vs. Bulgaria on centre court instead of the USA vs. China. Fans with centre court tickets had their backs turned to the action, trying to watch the USA tie with Navratilova instead.
1991 - I went to Nottingham to watch this live; it was very well attended (British fans are generally very good at turning up for sporting events). ASV and Martinez, both still teenagers at the time, led Spain to their first ever title, as they dominated the competition during the 90s. ASV won every singles and doubles match that she played. The 15 year old Capriati was there and spearheaded the USA's run to the final where she beat Martinez. Unsurprisingly though, Princess Diana being there was clearly the main event.
1998 - I really wanted to Switzerland to beat Spain on home soil in the final, not least because I didn't want to see Spain winning the competition yet again in the 90s. Hingis put them 2-1 up, and Schnyder then had the opportunity to secure the title. But Martinez (who she had a hilarious feud with at Charleston in 2004) beat her 9-7 in the 3rd set of the rubber (Schnyder did win 4 games in a row in the final set from 0-3 down so had momentum), before teaming up with ASV to win the crucial doubles rubber.
2005 - Dementieva single handedly won the final for Russia away to France at Roland Garros, as they successfully defended their title. As Mauresmo fan, her match against Dementieva in the 3rd rubber was another example of her struggling to deal with the pressure of an expectant home crowd at Roland Garros. Dementieva certainly thrived when representing Russia.
2008 - The Israel vs. Russia tie, antics of the crowd with Peer clearly trying to encourage them, and the hilarious reactions to that all by Sharapova and Chakvetadze during and after their respective decisive wins on the 2nd day. I will say though that a rowdy, not especially well behaved but non violent / threatening crowd, is still better than a sparse crowd with a lot of empty seats - there have been plenty examples of the letter in tennis and in-particular in women's tennis including in this competition over the years.
What are your favourite memories from this competition?
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