German Davis Cup team

Germany
captain	Michael Kohlmann
Current ITF ranking	14th
statistics
First participation	1913
Davis Cup participations	83
of which in world group	35
Title won	3
Total finals	5
best result	S (1988, 1989, 1993)
Eternal balance	143: 79
Most successful players
Most wins overall	Gottfried von Cramm (82)
Most individual wins	Gottfried von Cramm (58)
Most double victories	Gottfried von Cramm (24)
Best double	Hans-Jürgen Pohmann / Jürgen Faßbender (13)
Most participations	Wilhelm Bungert (43)
Most of the years	Wilhelm Bungert (14)
Last update of the infobox: January 31, 2018

The German Davis Cup team is the national tennis team in Germany that is used in the Davis Cup . The team was also used in the no longer held World Team Cup in Düsseldorf . The Davis Cup team is the men's national team in professional tennis, the women represent the German Fed Cup team .

history

Early successes up to World War II

In 1913 , the German Empire took part in this competition for the first time, which at that time was still called the International Lawn Tennis Challenge . The first game against France was won 4-1, against the USA the team around Oscar Kreuzer , Friedrich Wilhelm Rahe , Heinrich Kleinschroth and Otto Froitzheim had no chance and lost 5-0. Froitzheim acted as the first captain. In 1914 , the team was eliminated again in the semi-finals of the world group, this time against Australia . Only 13 years later, in the 1927 season , did the German Reich participate for the third time. In the quarter-finals of the European zone, the team of the South African Union lost 4-1. With Kleinschroth and Froitzheim there were two players from the old team, plus Hans Moldenhauer and Heinz Landmann . In 1928 there was another quarter-finals before they could win the European zone against Great Britain 3-2 in 1929 . In the subsequent playoff game of the continental winners, however, the German Reich suffered a 5-0 defeat against the USA. Daniel Prenn joined the team and Conrad Weiss was captain this season. After two weak seasons, the success was repeated in 1932 ; but again the team lost in the playoffs to the USA, this time with 2: 3. It was Gustav Jaenecke's and Gottfried von Cramm's first season . The latter was part of the team until 1953 and went down in Davis Cup history as the best player in the German team. After two more unsuccessful years, the team won the European zone for the third time, this time 4-1 against Czechoslovakia . In the third clash with the USA in the playoff encounter, the third defeat followed with a 1: 4. In addition to von Cramm and Kai Lund , the last German Grand Slam winner Henner Henkel was also used. In the following seasons of 1936 , 1937 and 1938 , the team, which could now rely on the top international players from Cramm and Henkel, reached the playoff match three times in a row. This was preceded by a 3-0 victory over Yugoslavia in the final of the European zone in 1936 . However, Henkel and von Cramm could not convince against Australia and lost the game 1: 4, the last individual, which was already worthless for the end result, was played by Hans Denker . In 1937 the team again defeated the Czechoslovaks 4-1 in the final of the European zone, but in the playoff Henkel and von Cramm had to accept another defeat against the USA, although this was closer to 2-3. Von Cramm lost the decisive fifth individual against Don Budge in the fifth set 6: 8. In the 1938 season, Yugoslavia was defeated 3-2 in the final of the European zone; in the playoff encounter, the team that had to do without von Cramm this season met Australia for the second time. The German team, represented by Henkel and Georg von Metaxa , lost the game 0-5. They almost repeated the success in 1939 , but the team around Henkel, Rolf Göpfert and Roderich Menzel lost the final of the European zone for the first time. Yugoslavia just won the game 3-2.

Curt Bergmann , Eberhard Nourney , Hans Redl , Fritz Kuhlmann , Friedrich Frenz , Walter Dessart , Edgar Dettmer , Phillip Buss and Walter Demasius also had missions in the German team until the outbreak of the Second World War and the associated break in competition . The captains included Friedrich Rahe and Heinrich Kleinschroth.

Post-war until the late 1960s

It was not until the 1951 season that Germany took part again in the competition, which was now known as the Davis Cup . The team immediately made it into the final of the European zone, where they lost 5-0 to Sweden . Since Henner Henkel, among others, had died in the war on the Eastern Front, the German team was supplemented by new players. In addition to von Cramm and Göpfert, Ernst Buchholz joined the team, and Helmut Gulcz made his first and only appearance for Germany in the final. The final was the last big success for the rest of the 1950s, the team did not get past the quarter-finals. This trend continued until the 1964 season, when the semi-finals were reached again for the first time. Again it was Sweden that threw Germany with Wilhelm Bungert , Wolfgang Stuck , Ingo Buding and Christian Kuhnke 3-2 out of the competition. After another out in the quarterfinals in the following season, Germany reached the semi-finals of the intercontinental playoffs in 1966 as the winner of Europe Group B. However, Bungert and Buding's team had to admit defeat 2: 3 against India . This was followed by the end in the first round of the 1967 season . The 1968 season was almost identical; Victory in the final of Group B of the European zone against South Africa, 2: 3 defeat against India in the semi-finals of the intercontinental playoffs. Bungert and Buding were supplemented by Jürgen Faßbender and Karl Meiler . In 1969 the team was eliminated in the semi-finals of Group B of the European zone.

In the years between 1951 and 1969 the team was sporadically supplemented by the players Peter Scholl , Engelbert Koch , Christoph Biederlack , Rupert Huber , Horst Hermann , Franz Feldbausch , Harald Elschenbroich and Dieter Ecklebe . Elschenbroich had the most appearances of these players with ten appointments.

1970 to 1984: first final, first relegation

In the 1970 season , the German team reached the cup final for the first time in its history. In the European zone, Germany prevailed in Group B against Denmark , Egypt , Belgium and the Soviet Union . Until then, Ingo Buding and Jürgen Faßbender were also employed alongside Wilhelm Bungert and Christian Kuhnke. As in 1966 and 1968, Germany met India in the semi-finals of the intercontinental playoffs and this time won the duel with a clear 5-0. In the final of the playoffs, Germany beat Spain 4-1. In both games and in the final that followed, only Bungert and Kuhnke were used. So also against the USA in the final, against which no game had yet been won. Bungert and Kuhnke did not manage to win a single point, so that the team led by captain Ferdinand Henkel lost 5-0 to the Americans led by Arthur Ashe . In the following season, Germany, supplemented by the debutant Hans-Jürgen Pohmann , failed in the final of Group A of the European zone to Romania . From 1972 to 1974 they lost to the Czechoslovaks in the semi-finals, from 1975 to 1979 the team failed at the latest in the quarter-finals.

For the 1981 season , a graduated system with a world group consisting of 16 teams was introduced in the Davis Cup. The eight losing teams in the first round played four relegated teams in the continental zones in a playoff match. After Germany lost their opening game against Argentina 2: 3, they had to go into relegation. In São Paulo , membership in the world group was secured with a 3-2 win over hosts Brazil . Ulrich Pinner and Peter Elter each won a single and the doubles Hans-Dieter Beutel and Christoph Zipf won their game in four sets. In the subsequent 1982 season they lost again the opening game against Czechoslovakia and the team suffered the first relegation in the history of the Cup after a defeat in relegation against Argentina. However, the team succeeded in direct recovery in 1983 when they defeated Belgium, Israel and Switzerland in the final. The promotion team included Michael Westphal , Andreas Maurer , Damir Keretic and Wolfgang Popp . In 1984 Germany failed again in the opening round against Argentina, but prevented the second relegation with a clear 5-0 win against Romania. In addition to Westphal, Beutel and Popp, Hans Schwaier also played his first competitive game.

In addition to the players mentioned, Reinhart Probst , Rolf Gehring , Ulrich Marten , Max Wünschig , Werner Zirngibl and Klaus Eberhard also made their debut in the 15 seasons between 1970 and 1984 .

1985 to 1995: heyday with three title wins

In the 1985 season , the German team was able to move into the Davis Cup final for the second time since 1970. At home in Munich , the team led by captain Wilhelm Bungert with Boris Becker , who competed in the Davis Cup for the first time, as well as Michael Westphal and Andreas Maurer, lost 3-2 to the Swedish team. Westphal lost the decisive individual against Stefan Edberg with 1: 3. On the way to the final, Germany defeated the US team for the first time, in the quarter-finals they managed a narrow 3-2 victory. The German team was then named Team of the Year . In the two following seasons, the team could not build on this performance. Both times the opening game was lost, but relegation was secured by a 5-0 win against Ecuador and a 3-2 win against the USA.

1986 was Eric Jelen his debut, in the subsequent season came Ricki Osterthun his only commitment to the German Davis Cup team. In 1987 Nikola Pilić took over the position of captain. The 1988 season was almost perfect. With Boris Becker and the debutants Patrik Kühnen and Carl-Uwe Steeb they defeated Brazil 5-0, before Becker and Eric Jelen defeated Denmark and Yugoslavia single-handedly with 5-0. All four players were used in the final against Sweden. Steeb and Becker won their opening games in singles, so a close five-set win by Becker and Jelen in doubles against Anders Järryd and Stefan Edberg meant Germany's first Davis Cup title win. Steeb lost his insignificant second individual, while Kent Carlsson did not play against Kühnen. The end result was 4: 1. In 1989 the German team successfully defended their title. In the same line-up, she defeated Indonesia , Czechoslovakia and the USA en route to the final . In the final taking place in Stuttgart , the Swedes were again left behind with 2: 3. Steeb lost his opening game, while Becker won both singles and doubles alongside Eric Jelen; Steeb again lost the second individual game. However, Germany did not succeed in defending its title a second time, and the team was eliminated in the quarter-finals against Argentina. Also in 1991 they had to admit defeat to the USA in the semi-finals. In 1992 they even lost the opening game against Brazil, but relegation was prevented by a clear 5-0 against Belgium. During these three years, Michael Stich , Jens Wöhrmann and Markus Zoecke made their debut.

In the 1993 season , the German team reached the fifth final. With two 4-1 successes over Russia and the Czech Republic, Germany advanced to the semi-finals. Marc-Kevin Goellner played his first competitive game against the Czech Republic . In the semifinals, Sweden was clearly defeated 5-0. In the final, Germany met Australia, which had previously defeated the defending champions from the USA in the first round. After the two individual games played by Stich and Goellnern, it was a 1-1 draw before the double Kühnen and Stich took the lead. The decision was made by Stich with a smooth 3-0 over Richard Fromberg , the final victory of Goellner over Jason Stoltenberg had only statistical value. Germany defeated the Australians 4-1 in Düsseldorf .

Another title defense did not succeed. In 1994 the team around the two individual players Michael Stich and Bernd Karbacher lost 4-1 to Russia in the semi-finals. With Boris Becker, who returned to the team for the first time since 1992, he made it to the semi-finals again in 1995 . After individual wins by Becker and Stich, the German team was already leading 2-0. However, the double Becker and Stich was defeated in five sets. Karbacher stepped in for Becker, who was due to back problems and then lost his individual. In the decisive fifth individual, Stich was defeated by the Russian Andrei Tschesnokow in the fifth set with 12:14 after he had awarded nine match points. Russia made it 3-2 into the final. In 1994 Karsten Braasch and Bernd Karbacher joined the team.

1996 to 2003: mediocre and second descent

With David Prinosil and Hendrik Dreekmann , two other players made their debut in 1996 . This time they failed in the quarterfinals against France with 0: 5; In 1997 the team, complemented by Jens Knippschild , even suffered an opening defeat against Spain. Against Mexico , the threatened relegation was prevented in front of the home crowd in Essen . The following year they were left behind in the quarter-finals against the Swedish team, before relegation again in 1999 after an opening defeat against Russia. With a 4-1 win over Romania, the German team held the class. In 1998 and 1999, Tommy Haas , Nicolas Kiefer and Rainer Schüttler were joined by new players who have shaped the team as regular players for many years. Between 1997 and 1999 Boris Becker had also replaced the Croat Nikola Pilić as captain, before Becker passed the position on to his former teammate Carl-Uwe Steeb from 1999 to 2001 . In 2000, the team around the debutant Michael Kohlmann moved into the quarterfinals, but suffered a 2-3 defeat against Australia. 2001 again followed a first round win with subsequent defeat in the quarterfinals. This time the German team lost 4-1 to the Netherlands . In the 2002 season, Germany said goodbye to Croatia in the first round with 1: 4 from the competition, but secured relegation in the relegation. In 2003 Germany rose to the relegation round after a 5-0 defeat against Argentina . There they lost in Sundern against Belarus and had after 1982 for the second time in Davis Cup history the aisle in the continental zone I Europe / Africa compete. Lars Burgsmüller and Tomas Behrend were appointed to the German team for the first time this season. Michael Stich, Steeb's successor from 2001, resigned. Patrik Kühnen became the new captain.

2004 to today: rose again in 2005

In the 2004 competition, Germany played in the second round of Europe / Africa Zone I and defeated Israel 5-0. But in the relegation round the Germans lost 3-2 again in Bratislava against Slovakia , which should reach the final the following year. Alexander Waske and Florian Mayer made their debut this season. The following year they started a new attempt, which succeeded with a 3-2 win against South Africa and reached the world group with a 3-2 win over the Czech team . In 2006 they lost to France in Düsseldorf at the beginning , in the relegation the Germans were able to celebrate relegation against Thailand in the world group. In 2007 Germany played successfully, the team won against Croatia and Belgium 3-2. In the semi-finals, the team lost 3-2 , since this season they were supplemented by Philipp Kohlschreiber , Philipp Petzschner and Benjamin Becker , Russia .

In 2008 and 2009 they made it to the quarter-finals twice, both times they failed to Spain . Christopher Kas , Michael Berrer , Andreas Beck and Mischa Zverev played for the first time during the seasons . 2010 and 2011 were followed by defeats against France in the first round and in the quarter-finals. Here graduated from Simon Greul his first and only match. In the Davis Cup 2012 , the team was eliminated in the first round against Argentina and had to secure relegation against Australia. At the World Team Cup 2012 , for the first time in the history of the competition, the German team was not looked after by the current Davis Cup captain ( Patrik Kühnen ), but by the players' private coaches. 2012 was with Cedrik-Marcel Stebe of a total of 96 players made his debut for the German Davis Cup team. Stebe secured the team in the narrow 3-2 success in the relegation game against Australia by a smooth win over Lleyton Hewitt in the decisive fourth individual to stay up. The team had previously lost 4-1 to Argentina in the first round.

In 2013 the team lost to the Argentines at the start, this time with 0: 5. Tobias Kamke made his debut in this game. Daniel Brands and Martin Emmrich made their debut in the relegation game against Brazil . A 4-1 victory prevented relegation once again. In the 2014 season , the team reached the quarter-finals with a 4-1 win over Spain. There she was defeated by France, against whom Peter Gojowczyk and Andre Begemann made their debut, after a 2-0 lead with 2: 3. In 2015, Germany lost 3-2 to France in the first round. Debutant Jan-Lennard Struff won his second individual role. In the following season , Germany was eliminated in the first round. The team for which Alexander Zverev played for the first time lost 3-2 to the Czech Republic. Daniel Masur made his debut in the relegation game against Poland , which was won 3-2 . In 2017 , for the first time in German Davis Cup history, Mischa and Alexander Zverev played two brothers on the same team. Nevertheless, both Kohlschreiber and the Zverev double failed in the first round in just five sets against Belgium. Alexander Zverev, who had won his first game, was also defeated in the decisive individual, the game was ultimately lost 4-1. In the relegation against Portugal , Jan-Lennard Struff in particular secured relegation with two single wins and a double success with debutant Tim Pütz in a 3-2 victory. In addition to Pütz, Yannick Hanfmann also made his debut against Portugal. With the 3-1 win over Australia, the German team managed to win the first round for the first time in four years in the 2018 season . Alexander Zverev won both singles, Tim Pütz and Jan-Lennard Struff were also successful in doubles.

German team player

year	player
1981	Uli Pinner , Rolf Gehring , Christoph Zipf , Hans-Dieter Beutel , Peter Elter
1982	Uli Pinner, Hans-Dieter Beutel, Rolf Gehring, Christoph Zipf, Wolfgang Popp , Michael Westphal , Andreas Maurer
1983	Damir Keretic , Wolfgang Popp, Michael Westphal, Andreas Maurer
1984	Hans-Dieter Beutel, Wolfgang Popp, Michael Westphal, Andreas Maurer, Hans Schwaier
1985	Boris Becker , Michael Westphal, Andreas Maurer, Hans Schwaier
1986	Boris Becker, Michael Westphal, Andreas Maurer, Eric Jelen
1987	Boris Becker, Eric Jelen, Ricki Osterthun
1988	Boris Becker, Eric Jelen, Carl-Uwe Steeb , Patrik Kühnen
1989	Boris Becker, Carl-Uwe Steeb, Eric Jelen, Patrik Kühnen
1990	Michael Stich , Carl-Uwe Steeb, Eric Jelen, Jens Wöhrmann
1991	Boris Becker, Michael Stich, Eric Jelen, Carl-Uwe Steeb
1992	Boris Becker, Carl-Uwe Steeb, Eric Jelen, Markus Zoecke , Michael Stich
1993	Michael Stich, Marc-Kevin Goellner , Patrik Kühnen, Carl-Uwe Steeb
1994	Michael Stich, Marc-Kevin Goellner, Patrik Kühnen, Karsten Braasch , Bernd Karbacher
1995	Boris Becker, Michael Stich, Markus Zoecke, Bernd Karbacher
1996	Michael Stich, David Prinosil , Hendrik Dreekmann , Boris Becker, Marc-Kevin Goellner
1997	Marc-Kevin Goellner, David Prinosil, Hendrik Dreekmann, Boris Becker, Jens Knippschild
1998	Tommy Haas , Nicolas Kiefer , Boris Becker, David Prinosil
1999	Tommy Haas, Nicolas Kiefer, Boris Becker, David Prinosil, Rainer Schüttler , Marc-Kevin Goellner
2000	Tommy Haas, Rainer Schüttler, Marc-Kevin Goellner, David Prinosil, Michael Kohlmann
2001	Tommy Haas, Nicolas Kiefer, Marc-Kevin Goellner, David Prinosil, Jens Knippschild
2002	Rainer Schüttler, Nicolas Kiefer, Tommy Haas, Michael Kohlmann, David Prinosil
2003	Rainer Schüttler, Nicolas Kiefer, Lars Burgsmüller , Michael Kohlmann, David Prinosil, Tomas Behrend
2004	Tommy Haas, Florian Mayer , Nicolas Kiefer, Rainer Schüttler, Alexander Waske
2005	Tommy Haas, Nicolas Kiefer, Rainer Schüttler, Alexander Waske
2006	Tommy Haas, Alexander Waske, Nicolas Kiefer, Florian Mayer, Rainer Schüttler, Michael Kohlmann
2007	Tommy Haas, Philipp Kohlschreiber , Michael Kohlmann, Alexander Waske, Benjamin Becker , Philipp Petzschner
2008	Philipp Kohlschreiber, Florian Mayer, Philipp Petzschner, Michael Berrer , Nicolas Kiefer
2009	Philipp Kohlschreiber, Rainer Schüttler, Nicolas Kiefer, Christopher Kas , Andreas Beck , Mischa Zverev
2010	Philipp Kohlschreiber, Florian Mayer, Benjamin Becker, Christopher Kas, Simon Greul , Andreas Beck
2011	Philipp Kohlschreiber, Florian Mayer, Philipp Petzschner, Christopher Kas
2012	Philipp Petzschner, Florian Mayer, Tommy Haas, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe , Benjamin Becker
2013	Philipp Kohlschreiber, Florian Mayer, Daniel Brands , Tobias Kamke , Martin Emmrich , Christopher Kas
2014	Tommy Haas, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Florian Mayer, Peter Gojowczyk , Daniel Brands, Tobias Kamke, Andre Begemann
2015	Philipp Kohlschreiber, Jan-Lennard Struff , Benjamin Becker, Andre Begemann, Dustin Brown
2016	Philipp Kohlschreiber, Alexander Zverev , Philipp Petzschner, Florian Mayer, Daniel Brands, Jan-Lennard Struff, Daniel Masur
2017	Philipp Kohlschreiber, Alexander Zverev, Mischa Zverev, Jan-Lennard Struff, Cedrik-Marcel Stebe, Tim Pütz , Yannick Hanfmann
2018	Alexander Zverev, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Jan-Lennard Struff, Tim Pütz

Team bosses (selection)

• Ferdinand Henkel
• Wilhelm Bungert (1985)
• Nikola Pilić (1987–1996)
• Boris Becker (1997–1999)
• Carl-Uwe Steeb (1999-2001)
• Michael Stich (2001-2003)
• Patrik Kühnen (2003–2012)
• Carsten Arriens (2013-2015)
• Michael Kohlmann (since 2015)

Final participation

Results from a German perspective:

year	Final location	Final opponent	Result
1970	Cleveland	United States	0: 5
1985	Munich	Sweden	2: 3
1988	Gothenburg	Sweden	4: 1
1989	Stuttgart	Sweden	3: 2
1993	Dusseldorf	Australia	4: 1

See also

German Fed Cup team

Web links

• Davis Cup statistics - Germany (English)
• DTB German Tennis Association

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Joseph Kelnberger: The great drama of 1995. In: sueddeutsche.de . May 17, 2010, accessed October 13, 2018 . 
2. ↑ Kicker Online from May 18, 2012 , accessed on May 21, 2012
3. ↑ Arriens becomes the new Davis Cup captain , In: Welt-Online, news from November 22, 2012 (accessed November 22, 2012).