The United States Tennis Association announced on Thursday that Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. has been selected as the host site for the Davis Cup quarterfinal tie between the United States and Belgium, April 6-8. It will be held at the Curb Event Center, marking the first time Davis Cup has been played in Nashville since 1978 at Vanderbilt University.
“The USTA is excited to bring the next U.S. Davis Cup tie to Nashville, a city with a strong passion for the sport, a region that has a vibrant tennis community, and an area with an incredibly diverse fan-base,” USTA president Katrina Adams stated. “We are lucky enough to have a host site in Belmont University that has been home to numerous high-profile events and will truly embrace the international spectacle that is Davis Cup tennis.”
“The Davis Cup is to tennis what the World Cup is to soccer—it’s the biggest world-wide team competition in the sport,” said Belmont president Dr. Bob Fisher. “To be able to host this event at Belmont University and in Nashville is an opportunity to put our university and our city on the world stage. This quarterfinal event with Belgium, the No. 2 seed, will be one of the highlights of the tennis year. We can’t wait to show Belmont’s and Nashville’s hospitality to the world.”
“The Davis Cup event gives us an opportunity to showcase Belmont and Nashville to a new audience,” added Butch Spyridon, president and CEO of the Nashville Convention & Visitors Corp. “We are honored to have been selected and will do our best to deliver a first-class experience to the players and fans, while we further enhance our event resume.”
Team USA battled into the quarterfinals thanks to a first-round road sweep of an undermanned Serbian side. Belgium, which has finished runner-up in Davis Cup twice in the last three seasons, is coming off a 3-1 win over Hungary. The United States is 4-0 all-time against the Belgians in this competition, last prevailing in a 2005 World Group playoff in Leuven, Belgium.
With the Miami Masters immediately preceding the Davis Cup quarterfinals, both teams should have their top players on board for a short trip from Miami to Nashville. Belgium will almost certainly be led by world No. 7 David Goffin, while the Americans may stick with the quartet of John Isner, Sam Querrey, Ryan Harrison, and Steve Johnson that got the job done in Serbia. If healthy, Jack Sock could be back in the mix.
who’s going?
Rick, I hope that YOU are going…and check out the famous Bluebird Cafe (Taylor Swift!) in downtown Nashville!