The Davis Cup by Richard Evans & John McEnroe
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Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Hardcover - 256 pages ( 1 November, 1998) Ebury Press; ISBN: 0091865654 This is rather more than a simple history of the Davis Cup as it celebrates its 100th birthday. It is the contextual portrait, by Richard Evans, of a complex institution set within the larger frameworks of sport and this century's great events and dynamics. Dwight Davis's annual challenge cup has proved to be the catalyst for tennis's entrance onto the international stage and it remains a significant force to this day. Evans charts both the cup's influence on the evolution of international tennis as well as the sporting, social and political storms which have buffeted the development of the Davis Cup ever since. Evans draws upon over four decades of experience (as political, war and sporting journalist; ATP Tour director; biographer) as he transports the reader from the net-sagging days of the first US vs GB encounter in 1900 to the far-removed world inhabited by the likes of Sampras, Henman, Hingis and Graf. Evans casts his characters in the socio-political environs of their age and in so doing brings the exploits and charms of Wilding, Tilden, the Four Musketeers, Perry, Rosewall, Laver, Nastase, McEnroe, Edberg et al. to life. The result of Evans' labours is a thoroughly researched, beautifully illustrated and eminently readable text. Indeed, it is a surprisingly engaging read for both the tennis connoisseur and the tennis débutante alike. This is a fascinating study of a sporting institution whose paradox has always been its enduring ability to rise above individual egos and rivalries in an inherently individualistic sport. --Colin Jones Synopsis Throughout 1999, the International Tennis Federation is celebrating the centenary of the Davis Cup, the oldest team competition in tennis. In this text, Richard Evans tells the story of the Davis Cup, from its beginning as a match between the United States and Britain, to the late 1990s era. |
