Great Britain and Belgium headline the 2016 Davis Cup - UBITENNIS

Great Britain and Belgium headline the 2016 Davis Cup

By Adam Addicott
2 Min Read
The Davis Cup trophy

The draw for the first round of the 2016 Davis Cup has taken place in Santiago with both of this year’s finalists receiving testing ties.

Great Britain will face Japan for the first time since 1931. The British team, spearheaded by Andy Murray, will play the tie at home. Britain has won 13 out of their last 17 home ties. The last time they lost at home was in April 2012 to Belgium (4-1).

Belgium will play Croatia in their home tie. It will be the second time in history that both countries have played each other in the tournament. Their first encounter was in 2004 where Croatia won 3-2.

Australia will renew their rivalry with the USA first the first time since 1999. The upcoming tie will be the 46th meeting between the two countries since 1905. The USA currently leads the head-to-head 25-20.Their last meeting was in the 1999 Davis Cup quarter-final when Australia ease to a 4-1 victory. The 2016 encounter will take place in Australia.

Other noticeable ties in the first round  include a rematch of the 2013 semi-final between Italy and Switzerland. The potentially thrilling encounter will take place on Italian soil where Fabio Fognini and his team will be seeking to revenge their 3-2 loss last year. Serbia will play Kazakhstan for the first time in Davis Cup history. Finally, Poland will play Canada in their first appearance in the top tier. Poland defeated Slovakia (3-2) in the world group playoffs to progress to their maiden world group first round.

The top eight ties will take place between 4-6 March 2016. The full list of ties is the following:-

Great Britain v Japan
Serbia  v Kazakhstan
Italy v Switzerland
Poland v Argentina
France v Canada
Germany v Czech Republic
Australia v USA
Belgium v Croatia
(Host country is on the left)

The 2016 Davis Cup draw.

 

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