By Cliff Richey
This weekend’s Davis Cup Final between Switzerland and France should be great viewing. For one, Roger Federer is leading Switzerland in an effort to add the only major title in tennis he has not won to his record setting career as well as a first ever title for Switzerland.
But the world’s oldest international team trophy has lost some prestige over the last few decades. The four Grand Slams are the big events the top players shoot for now. Each Slam is a three-week commitment — a week to prepare and two weeks trying to win a coveted Slam. All of the matches are best of five sets. Do well in those four events and play in another fifteen world wide tour events and the Davis Cup becomes. for the top guys, a secondary event. Every nation lately at different times has had a hard time getting their best players to commit to the Davis Cup schedule. It’s too bad because the Davis Cup, with all its history, is still one of the iconic trophies in all the world of sports. Win it and you and your country are the world team champion. Not bad!
But it was not always that way. In past history, the top guys would use the Grand Slam as a springboard to be asked to play Davis Cup for their country and back in the day the top guys all played and were honored to play for their home nation. It was such a prestigious event that also promoted goodwill amongst the nations of the world. Let me tell you, when you walk on that championship court and your national anthem is played and the red white and blue is full staff and you win the first game and the umpire is saying “Game United States” it will get your heart started!
I won two Davis Cup titles –1969 and 1970. We beat Romania in ’69 and West Germany in ’70. In ’69 when the captain named me to the team it was great. Arthur Ashe, Stan Smith and Bob Lutz were my other teammates. And Romania had Illie Nastase and Ion Tiriac. In Cleveland on hard courts we had a 7,000 seat arena sold out. Arthur, at the time, was our top player and figured to play two singles matches. Smith and Lutz would play doubles. Before getting to Cleveland, I asked our captain what were the odds of me playing the other two singles – beat Stan Smith in challenge matches the week before in Cleveland and that would get me in.
Fair enough.
I did just that! Our captain named Smith. According to the captain, the hard court surface favored Stan and not me! Really?! And oh by the way our captain was also the agent for the other three team members except me! So even though I was a bench warmer that year my name is on the Davis Cup as champion because I was on the official four-man team but it hurt. I felt I was really not a Davis Cup champ because I didn’t play.
Lesson learned.
The next year, we defended the Cup against West Germany. So here we go again. That year leading into the Davis Cup final I was having a super year. Before going once again to Cleveland I told our coach that if I win my practice challenge matches against Stan and I am not named to play I will walk out and announce to the world what happened. I beat Stan again two matches to one. I was named. We beat the Germans 5-0. I was named Davis Cup Champion MVP. To win the Davis Cup alongside Arthur Ashe as my other singles teammate is pretty special.
In the aftermath of all that drama I would always put on my resume the 1970 Davis Cup championship but not my 1969 title. As I said, even though I was on the official four-man team in ’69 and a legit champion, because I was a bench warmer I discounted it.
But then I came to realize, I prize the ’69 title as much as the ’70 title. Maybe more! Why? Challenge matches are brutal. At the time Stan was a better player than either Nastase or Tiriac. I beat Smith and was not named but I was on the winning team and I beat the best player there! Oh yeah I won the Davis Cup two times. You bet I did!
Cliff Richey is a former U.S. No. 1 tennis player who reached the semifinals of the French Open in 1970 and the US Opens in 1970 and 1972. He is the author of the book “Acing Depression: A Tennis Champion’s Toughest Match” available here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0942257669/ref=cm_sw_r_pi_dp_jFJBub09A42AT
