The USTA announced that the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center in Beaverton, Ore., has been selected as the site for the 2016 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group Quarterfinal between the United States and Croatia, July 15-17. Davis Cup will return to the greater Portland area for the first time since hosting the 2007 Davis Cup Final versus Russia, where the U.S. captured their last Davis Cup title, defeating the Russians, 4-1. Founded in 1900, Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the World Cup of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in sport, with 135 nations entered in 2016.
The best-of-five match series begins on Friday, July 15, with two singles matches featuring each country’s No. 1 player against the other country’s No. 2 player. Saturday’s schedule features the pivotal doubles match. And the final day of play on Sunday features the two “reverse singles” matches, when the No. 1 players square off, followed by the No. 2 players meeting each other in the final match. All matches are best-of-five sets until one nation clinches the tie. A revised schedule for Sunday may take place if a team clinches in the third or fourth match.
The USTA will be constructing a 6,000-seat stadium around the current main court at the Tualatin Hills Tennis Center in Beaverton. The USTA has partnered with the Oregon Sports Authority to bring this event to the Portland area.
“Portland holds a special place in U.S. Davis Cup history when we won the title here in 2007,” said Katrina Adams, USTA Chairman of the Board, CEO, and President. “We are thrilled to bring world-class tennis back to the area with Beaverton as our host and help grow the game in this community. We look forward to fans filling the stands and coming out to cheer on Team USA as we try to move one step closer to the Davis Cup trophy once again.”
Tickets will go on sale to the public on Friday, June 3, at 10 a.m. PT. An exclusive pre-sale for USTA members will take place on Wednesday, June 1, and Thursday, June 2. From Friday, June 3, through Thursday, June 23, only three-day ticket packages will be sold at prices ranging from $90 to $500 ($30 to $166 per day), representing the greatest initial ticket value. Beginning on Friday, June 24, at 10 a.m. PT and pending availability, fans will then have access to only single-day tickets for Friday, Saturday, or Sunday with prices ranging from $40 to $175 per day. Fans are encouraged to purchase three-day ticket packages to take advantage of the best prices and to ensure availability.
Tickets may be purchased by visiting www.usta.com/daviscup or by calling 888-484-USTA (8782).
This is the fourth time that the greater Portland area has hosted Davis Cup. Portland’s Memorial Coliseum played host to the last three ties, including the 2007 Davis Cup Final, where Andy Roddick, James Blake and Bob and Mike Bryan won the last Davis Cup title for the U.S. over Russia. The Memorial Coliseum also hosted Davis Cup in 1981 and 1984, in which the U.S. won both of those match-ups against Australia.
“We are absolutely delighted to welcome the return of the Davis Cup back to the Portland area following the US Davis Cup Championship match hosted here nine years ago,” said Drew Mahalic, CEO, Oregon Sports Authority. “We look forward to hosting the most prestigious tennis event in the world this coming July and we know all tennis fans in Oregon and the Northwest will be ecstatic about the opportunity to witness the best in tennis once again.”
The winner of this match advances to the World Group Semifinal, held September 16-18, for a chance to compete for the 2016 Davis Cup title.
U.S. Davis Cup Team Captain Jim Courier will select the four players to represent the United States no later than ten days prior to the event. Croatia is likely to be led by 2014 US Open singles champion Marin Cilic, who is currently ranked No. 11 in the world.
Croatia holds a 3-0 record over the United States in Davis Cup, one of only three countries that hold a winning record over the U.S. The U.S. last faced Croatia in the 2009 World Group Quarterfinal in Porec, Croatia, in which Croatia won 3-2 with Cilic and Ivo Karlovic leading the team. The U.S. also faced Croatia in the 2005 World Group First Round in Los Angeles and in the 2003 World Group First Round in Zagreb, Croatia. This will be the United States’ first home tie since 2014 in Hoffman Estates, Ill., as the U.S. team competed on the road against Great Britain and Uzbekistan last year and faced Australia in Melbourne this year.
The site selection is subject to final approval by the International Tennis Federation. Tennis Channel will present live daily coverage of the World Group Quarterfinal.
The United States Davis Cup Team leads all nations with 32 Davis Cup titles. The U.S. holds a 216-69 all-time Davis Cup record and owns the longest uninterrupted run in the World Group, dating back to 1989. For more information, including access to player and historical Davis Cup records, please go to www.usta.com/daviscup or www.daviscup.com. Follow the U.S. Davis Cup team on Twitter @USDavisCupTeam. Wilson is the official ball of the U.S. Davis Cup team.
The USTA is the national governing body for the sport of tennis in the U.S. and the leader in promoting and developing the growth of tennis at every level -- from local communities to the highest level of the professional game. A not-for-profit organization with more than 715,000 members, it invests 100% of its proceeds in growing the game. It owns and operates the US Open, the highest-attended annual sporting event in the world, and launched the Emirates Airline US Open Series, linking seven summer tournaments to the US Open. In addition, it owns approximately 90 Pro Circuit events throughout the U.S. and selects the teams for the Davis Cup, Fed Cup, Olympic and Paralympic Games. The USTA’s philanthropic entity, the USTA Foundation, provides grants and scholarships and helps under-resourced youth and individuals with disabilities, and supports wounded, ill and injured service members, veterans and their families. For more information on the USTA, log on to usta.com, “like” the official Facebook page, facebook.com/usta, or follow @usta on Twitter.
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