2019 DAVIS CUP BY BNP PARIBAS QUALIFIERS 1-2 FEBRUARY – TIE PREVIEW NOTES Brazil (c) v Belgium (s) – Uberlandia, BRA – clay (indoors) Uzbekistan (c) v Serbia (s) – Tashkent, UZB – hard (indoors) Australia (s) (c)* v Bosnia and Herzegovina – Adelaide, AUS – hard (outdoors) India (c) v Italy (s) – Kolkata, IND – grass (outdoors) Germany (s) (c) v Hungary – Frankfurt, GER – hard (indoors) Switzerland (s) (c) v Russia – Biel, SUI – hard (indoors) Kazakhstan (s) (c)* v Portugal – Astana, KAZ – hard (indoors) Czech Republic (s) (c) v Netherlands – Ostrava, CZE – hard (indoors) Colombia (c)* v Sweden (s) – Bogota, COL – clay (indoors) Austria (s) (c) v Chile – Salzburg, AUT – clay (indoors) Slovakia (c) v Canada (s) – Bratislava, SVK – clay (indoors) China, P.R. (c) v Japan (s) – Guangzhou, CHN – hard (outdoors) (s) = seed; (c) = choice of ground; * choice of ground was decided by lot THE NEW FORMAT EXPLAINED… The 24 teams in action this weekend are competing to secure a place at the 2019 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas Finals in Madrid on 18-24 November. The 12 winning nations this weekend will join 2018 champion Croatia, runner-up France, and semi-finalists Spain and USA in the Finals. Two nations, Great Britain and Argentina, have been awarded wild cards to the Finals and will also compete in Madrid, making up the field of 18 teams. This weekend’s ties will be played over 5 rubbers, with each rubber being best-of-three tiebreak sets. On Friday, the home nation’s No. 1 player will play against the away nation’s No. 2 player and vice versa. On Saturday, there will be a doubles rubber followed by the reverse singles rubbers (ie No. 1 v No. 1 followed by No. 2 v No. 2). At the Finals in November, the 18 nations will compete in six groups of three teams, with the six group winners and two best-performing group runners-up contesting quarter-finals, semi-finals and the Davis Cup Final on Sunday 24 November. Each tie at the Finals will be played in one day and consist of two singles rubbers (No. 1 v No. 1 followed by No. 2 v No. 2) followed by a doubles rubber. The 12 losing nations this weekend will compete in Zone Group action later this year. The winners of Group I ties in September will progress to the Davis Cup Qualifiers in February 2020, where they will be joined by the teams that finish in 5th-16th positions in the 2019 Davis Cup Finals. 1 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes PAST CHAMPIONS In total, 15 nations have won the Davis Cup. • USA 32 • Australia 28 • France/Great Britain 10 • Sweden 7 • Spain 5 • Germany 3 • Czechoslovakia/Czech Republic 3 • Croatia, Russia 2 • Argentina, Italy, Serbia, South Africa, Switzerland 1 COMEBACKS FROM 0-2 DOWN There have been just 10 comebacks from 0-2 down in World Group ties. Sweden has produced 4 of these comebacks. Croatia recorded the most recent one, defeating USA in Portland in the quarterfinals in 2016. In the Davis Cup overall there have been 58 comebacks from 0-2 down since the competition began in 1900. PARTICIPATING NATIONS 133 nations have entered the 2019 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas. DAVIS CUP NATIONS RANKING The ITF Davis Cup Nations Ranking was launched at the end of 2001. It is published following every tie weekend and measures success over the preceding 4-year period, with recent performances weighted more heavily. It is the sole criteria for seeding at all levels of Davis Cup competition. Latest Davis Cup Nations Ranking (26 November 2018) 1 France 16 Canada 2 Croatia 17 Japan 3 Argentina 18 Colombia 4 Belgium 19 India 5 Great Britain 20 Hungary 6 USA 21 Netherlands 7 Spain 22 Russia 8 Serbia 23 Switzerland 9 Australia 24 Uzbekistan 10 Italy 25 Chile 11 Germany 26 Portugal 12 Kazakhstan 27 Bosnia/Herzegovina 13 Czech Republic 28 Brazil 14 Sweden 29 Slovakia 15 Austria 30 China, P.R. 2 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes Brazil v Belgium – Uberlandia, BRA – clay (indoors) Head-to-head: Belgium leads 3-0 A 4th meeting for the 2 nations – and their first in Brazil. Belgium has won all 3 of their previous encounters, including their most recent meeting in Ostend in the 2016 World Group play-offs. BRAZIL v BELGIUM 28 Current DC Nations Ranking 4 Semifinals 1992, Runner-up 1904, 2015, Best Result 2000 2017 1932 First year played 1904 71 Years played (inc 2019) 97 160 Ties played 191 89-71 Ties Win-Loss 97-94 1 Comebacks from 0-2 down 0 • BRAZIL is competing in the Davis Cup for the 71st year. • Last year, Brazil defeated Dominican Republic 3-2 in Santo Domingo in the Americas Zone Group I first round before falling to Colombia 3-2 in Barranquilla in the second round. • Brazil’s best Davis Cup performance is reaching the semifinals on 2 occasions – in 1992 (l. Switzerland) and 2000 (l. Australia). It also reached the Inter Zonal Final – the round before the Challenge Round – in both 1966 and 1971. • Brazil has lost 2 of its last 3 clay court ties. Its only victory on clay in that time came in its most-recent clay court tie, defeating Ecuador 5-0 in the 2017 Americas Zone Group I second round in Ambato. • Brazil is currently ranked at No. 28 in the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking. Its highest-ranking is No. 6, which it achieved in when the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking was launched in December 2001. • Thiago Monteiro is making his 6th Davis Cup appearance this weekend. He has a 4-5 win-loss record in singles rubbers and has never contested a doubles rubber in the competition. • Rogerio Dutra Silva is making his first Davis Cup appearance since Brazil’s 2016 Americas Zone Group I victory against Ecuador in Belo Horizonte. He has a 6-4 win-loss record in singles rubbers and has never contested a doubles rubber in the competition. • Marcelo Melo and Bruno Soares have won 3 of their last 4 Davis Cup doubles rubbers as a pair – their only defeat in that time came against Ruben Bemelmans/Joris De Loore in Brazil’s defeat to Belgium in the 2016 World Group play-offs in Ostend. Melo has an 18-4 win-loss record in the competition, while Soares has a 16-3 overall win-loss record in Davis Cup. • Thiago Seyboth Wild could make his Davis Cup debut this weekend. He has been nominated for the 2nd time – he was also nominated for Brazil’s victory against Dominican Republic last year but did not play. • BELGIUM is competing in the Davis Cup for the 97th year. • Last year, Belgium reached the quarterfinals. It defeated Hungary 3-1 in the World Group first round in Liege before falling to USA 4-0 in Nashville in the last 8. • Belgium’s best Davis Cup performance is reaching the final on 3 occasions – in 1904 (l. British Isles), 2015 (l. Great Britain) and 2017 (l. France). • Having finished runner-up in 1904, 2015 and 2017, Belgium jointly holds the record for most appearances in the Davis Cup Final without ever having won the title, alongside India and Romania. 3 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes • Belgium has lost its 2 most-recent away ties – to France in the 2017 Final in Lille and to USA in the quarterfinals in Nashville last year. Its last victory in an away tie came against Germany in the 2017 World Group first round when it recorded a 4-1 victory. • Belgium is currently ranked at No. 4 in the Davis Cup Nations’ Ranking – one place lower than its highest ranking of No. 3. • Arthur De Greef could contest his 2nd Davis Cup singles rubber this weekend. He lost his only previous singles rubber in the competition, falling to Alexander Zverev in Belgium’s victory against Germany in the 2017 World Group first round. This is his 3rd Davis Cup tie overall. • Kimmer Coppejans is making his first Davis Cup appearance since Belgium’s 2016 World Group first round defeat to Croatia, in which he lost the decisive 5th rubber to Borna Coric. He has a 1-2 win-loss record in Davis Cup singles rubbers and a 2-2 win-loss record in the competition overall. • Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen are making their 2nd Davis Cup appearances this weekend. Their only previous appearance in the competition came in the doubles rubber of last year’s quarterfinal defeat to USA – they lost to Ryan Harrison/Jack Sock in 4 sets. 4 2019 Davis Cup Qualifiers - preview notes Uzbekistan v Serbia – Tashkent, UZB – hard (indoors) Head-to-head: Serbia leads 1-0 A 2nd meeting for the 2 nations – Serbia recorded a 5-0 victory in their only previous encounter, a 2009 World Group play-off clash in Belgrade. UZBEKISTAN v SERBIA 24 Current DC Nations Ranking 8 World Group play- Best Result Champion 2010 offs 10 times 1994 First Year Played 1995 26 Years Played (inc 2019) 25 61 Ties Played 63 37-24 Ties Win-Loss 43-20 0 Comebacks from 0-2 down 0 • UZBEKISTAN is competing in the Davis Cup for the 26th year. • Last year, Uzbekistan advanced to the World Group play-offs after defeating Pakistan 4-1 in the Asia/Oceania Zone Group I second round in Islamabad (having received a bye through the first round). It fell to Great Britain 3-1 in the World Group play-offs in Glasgow. • Uzbekistan’s best Davis Cup performance is reaching the World Group play-offs on 10 occasions.