The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) has today announced that the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group semifinal between Great Britain and Australia will take place at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow. The tie will take place on September 18-20 and will be the 13th meeting between the two nations dating back to 1907, with Australia holding an 8-4 advantage.
Interestingly the two nations have split their last six meetings and the last time they faced off indoors in Great Britain, the hosts won 3-2.
Leon Smith, Captain of the Aegon GB Davis Cup Team, said: “We have had incredible support any time we played at home, none more so than when we played in Glasgow. Playing indoors allows the noise level to go through the roof and will give our team the ideal platform they need to get inspired. This will be important against a nation with the Davis Cup pedigree of Australia as we try to reach the final of competition for the first time in nearly 40 years. To bring all our fans together, I would like to ask anyone supporting us to wear Blue or Navy over the course of the weekend and make as much noise as possible.”
World number three Andy Murray added: “It’s exciting for the team to be going back to Glasgow. It’s always special to play in front of a home crowd and we are fortunate to have played our last three ties at home. We had a unique atmosphere in Glasgow, the crowd was unbelievable. It’s going to be a huge week for our team and we’ll be doing everything we can to get GB through to the final.”
The Emirates Arena will build a temporary hard court with 8,200 seats, similar to what was used in March against the United States. Teams will be announced no later than ten days before the start of the tie. Great Britain will be playing their first Davis Cup semifinal since 1981, while Australia is playing their 15th in that same span. Great Britain are bidding to reach the final for the first time since 1978 having last won the title in 1936 (ending a four consecutive year-run) amounting to nine titles in all. Australia have won the Davis Cup 28 times (only four behind the United States with 32), their last victory coming in 2003.
