The Davis Cup began back in 1900 as a competition between Britain and theUnited States but over the following century it has transformed into one of the world’s premier team events. So much so, a number of the world’s leading players have even prioritised helping their country to Davis Cup success over the Grand Slams and all-time greats like Rafael Nadal, Pete Sampras and John McEnroe rate Davis Cup glory as up there with the finest triumphs of their careers. For countries like Serbia and Argentina, the Davis Cup is of huge sporting importance and when Serbia lifted the title in memorable fashion in 2010, it sparked national celebrations which lasted for weeks. 

So what’s the format of the competition ?  Well, the world’s top sixteen nations compete in the World Group, a four-round elimination tournament spread over four weekends in the year and these ties are televised around the globe. Each tie consists of two singles rubbers on the Friday, a doubles rubber on the Saturday and the reverse singles rubbers on the Sunday. All live matches are contested over best of five sets.

The first round losers in the World Group have to compete in playoff matches in September to decide whether they stay in the top sixteen for the following year’s competition or drop down to the regional zones.   

One of the great things about the Davis Cup is that it’s truly a global event.  In 2007, 137 countries took part, ranging from the dominant forces of the game like Spain and Serbia to minnows Monaco and Togo, right down in Euro-African Zone Three.  And it isn’t always the traditional sporting superpowers who prevail. Ok, the United States and Australia have tended to be dominant in the past but Sweden have enjoyed a remarkable amount of success, winning no less than seven times.

And you can watch the Davis Cup World Group and World Group playoff ties online.  All you need is a free account with an online bookmaker such as bet365 and go to their live streaming > live tennis streaming service.