The USTA and U.S. Davis Cup Captain Jim Courier announced today that Austin, Texas has been selected as the site for the 2011 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas quarterfinal tie between the United States and Spain, July 8-10. The matches will be played at the Frank Erwin Center on The University of Texas at Austin campus. Austin is the hometown of U.S. Davis Cup stalwart Andy Roddick, who is second all-time in U.S. Davis Cup singles victories with 33.
World No. 1 and nine-time Grand Slam singles champion Rafael Nadal said after Spain’s first round win over Belgium that he was committed to compete in the Davis Cup quarterfinal against the United States.
This will be the first home tie for Courier, who is in his first year as U.S. Davis Cup Captain, and the first home tie for the U.S. since it defeated Switzerland in the 2009 first round in Birmingham, Ala. Since then the U.S. has played in four consecutive away ties.
“We are excited to play in Austin as we have not hosted a tie in the U.S. for quite some time,” said Courier, who made his debut as captain in the United States’ first round win over Chile earlier this month. “We will be ready to use our crowd’s energy for what promises to be an exciting and challenging tie versus Spain.”
The event is being organized, staged and promoted by the USTA. Tickets will go on sale to the general public the week of April 4th. For more information, fans can call the U.S. Davis Cup hotline at (888) 484-8782 or visit www.usta.com/daviscup.
“Texas has long been the place where people wanted to live and work, and with more and more high-profile sporting events being staged here, it’s clear the Lone Star State is where people want to play too,” said Texas Governor Rick Perry, who took part in today’s official announcement at the Erwin Center. “This event will bring thousands of tennis fans to Central Texas, and give us another opportunity to show the world why Texas is such a fantastic place to visit, live and do business.”
“Austin is honored to be chosen for the quarterfinal round of the Davis Cup,” says Matthew Payne, executive director of the Austin Sports Commission. “We’re looking forward to hosting this world-class event and showcasing why Austin has recently garnered global recognition as an attractive sports destination.”
This quarterfinal tie will mark the 10th matchup overall between the U.S. and Spain in Davis Cup competition. The U.S. leads the overall series 5-4, with its last victory against Spain coming in the 2007 quarterfinal in Winston-Salem, N.C. Nadal led Spain to a 4-1 victory in the last meeting between the two countries in the 2008 semifinal in Spain. The U.S. is 109-15 all-time in Davis Cup ties played at home.
This will be the fifth Davis Cup tie played in the state of Texas and first since the U.S. defeated Spain, 3-1, in the 2002 quarterfinal at the Westside Tennis Club in Houston. The U.S. is 4-0 in Texas, including the 1992 Davis Cup Final in Ft. Worth when arguably the best U.S. Davis Cup team ever (Andre Agassi, Jim Courier and the doubles team of John McEnroe and Pete Sampras) defeated Switzerland 3-1. A 10-year-old Andy Roddick attended that match as a fan with his family.
“I appreciate the USTA for even considering Austin,” said Roddick, after leading the United States to victory over Chile with two singles victories. “I think it’s been no secret that I have wanted it for a long time. It would be a dream come true to play at home.”
Tennis Channel will present live daily coverage of the U.S. vs. Spain Davis Cup quarterfinal.
Founded in 1900, Davis Cup is the world’s largest annual international men’s team competition with 125 nations competing this year. The U.S. leads all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles. The United States holds a 210-64 all-time Davis Cup record and owns the longest uninterrupted run in the World Group, dating back to 1989. For more information, including access to player and historical Davis Cup records, please go to www.usta.com/daviscup or www.daviscup.com.