Longwood Cricket Club is a tennis club based in Chestnut Hill, Boston, MA. It is the site of the first Davis Cup tie competed. For other uses, see Tennis (disambiguation). ... A sports club, athletics club or sports association is an eclectic institution oriented to multiple sports, which fields many teams and have varied sports departments in several sports at a same time, working under the same umbrella organization. ... Chestnut Hill is a place in the State of Massachusetts in the United States of America: see Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. ... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area    - City 232. ... The great Australians Lew Hoad and Ken Rosewall with the Cup in 1953 The Davis Cup is the premier international team event in mens tennis. ...

History

A club for cricket was opened in 1877 at Longwood estate, a place named after the house Napolean Bonaparte stayed at while exiled to St. Helena. A lawn tennis court was laid the following year. Richard D. Sears, who won 7 United States Championships would soon become a club member. A cricket match in progress. ... This article is about the sport, tennis. ... Richard Dick Sears (October 16, 1861 - April 8, 1943) was an American male tennis player. ... For the article about the U.S. Open 2006, click here. ...

The club's first tennis tournament was held in 1882. The Eastern Championship for doubles tennis was held in 1890. The following year saw Longwood Bowl tournament was held, attracting top American players. It would continue to be held annually until 1942.

The last cricket was played at Longwood in 1933.

Davis Cup beginnings

In 1900 Dwight Davis, then a fourth-year student of nearby Harvard University, arranged for a British team visit Longwood and compete for what became the first Davis Cup tie, branded the International Lawn Tennis Challenge. The Davis-captained Americans won the inaugural contest 3-0. Cover of Time Magazine (December 15, 1924) Dwight Filley Davis (July 5, 1879–November 28, 1945) was an American tennis player and politician. ... Harvard University (incorporated as The President and Fellows of Harvard College) is a private university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA and a member of the Ivy League. ...

Davis Cup ties at Longwood

In total fifteen Davis Cup ties have been settled at Longwood. The British Isles defeated the Americans 4-1 in the 1903 final. The 1908 semi-final saw the Americans reverse their fortunes and prevail by the same score.

The next eight ties played at Longwood did not involve the American team. 1914 saw Australasia defeat Britain 3-0 in a semi-final. 1922 through 1925 saw a tie played a year with Australasia defeating France 4-1 in a quarterfinal encounter in '22, Australia beating France by the same score in a '23 semi-final and in '24, but by a 3-2 scoreline, and Australia defeating Japan 4-1 in '25.

After France swept Japan 5-0 in a 1927 semi-final, Davis Cup would not return to Longwood for 11 years, with Australia defeating Nazi Germany 5-0 in the 1938 semi-final. A further decade would elapse before in 1948 Australia won another semi, this time over Czechoslovakia, 3-1. In 1957, the U.S. team returned to Brookline to defeat Brazil 5-0 in a 3rd round tie. Two years later saw Australia despatch with India 4-1 in the penultinate round.

Another forty years would pass before in 1999, Australia, led by Pat Rafter and Lleyton Hewitt defeated the U.S., led by Pete Sampras, 4-1 in a quarterfinal tie played on hardcourts. This is last time top-flight professional was played at Longwood. Patrick Michael Rafter (born 28 December 1972) is a popular Australian professional tennis player. ... Lleyton Glynn Hewitt (born February 24, 1981, Adelaide, Australia), is a former World No. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ...

U.S. Pro Championship

The U.S. Pro Tennis Championships professional tennis tournament was contested annually at Longwood from 1964 to 1999, when was discontinued, with the exception of 1995, when the tournament was rained out and 1996, when it was not scheduled.

Source

• Story from Sportsillustrated.cnn.com