The draw has taken place for the upcoming Davis Cup play-offs with 16 nations battling to secure their place in the 2017 world group.
Amongst the 16 nations are former champions Spain, Germany, Russia and Switzerland. Each team that wins their tie will be promoted to the world group and the losers will be relegated to the zone one regional group events. Four out of the eight ties will see countries play against each other for the first time in Davis Cup history.
The draw for September’s play-offs are the following:-
Uzbekistan Vs Switzerland – First meeting
Belgium Vs Brazil – This will be the first meeting between the two nations since 1993. Belgium currently leads the head-to-head 2-0.
Australia Vs Slovakia – First meeting
Canada Vs Chile – In what will be their ninth meeting in Davis Cup history, Canada is tied with Chile 4-4 in their head-to-head. Their most recent encounter was in 2008 when Chile clinched a 3-2 victory.
Russia Vs Kazakhstan – First meeting
India Vs Spain – After more than 50 years, Spain will once again player India. They have played each other three times before with their most recent meeting occurring in 1965. Spain leads the head-to-head 2-1.
Poland Vs Germany – Both countries might be next to each other, however, Germany has only played Poland three times before. The German’s lead the rivalry 2-1, but they lost their most recent tie in 1977.
Japan Vs Ukraine – First meeting
The ties will take place between September 16th – 18th. Also during that weekend will be the world group semifinals. Defending champion Great Britain will host Argentina and France will travel to Croatia. The British team are bidding to become the third country to win back-to-back Davis Cup titles since 2000 after Spain and The Czech Republic.
