Wawrinka receives Davis Cup Commitment Award

London, Apr 05, 2014: Swiss tennis star Stanislas Wawrinka headlines the latest group of players to be presented with the Davis Cup Commitment Award.

The ITF, through its National Associations, presented further Davis Cup Commitment Awards during this weekend’s 2014 Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group and zone group ties on Saturday 5 April.

This new award was conceived as part of the ITF’s 2013 Centenary celebrations, and is presented to Davis Cup players who have shown long-standing dedication to representing their country in this prestigious competition. Each award recipient will have competed in a minimum of 20 home-and-away ties or 50 ties at any level of the competition (including week-long zone group events) over their career.

The ITF presented the first seven trophies to players in an on-court presentation at the 100th Davis Cup Final in Prague in 2012. Among the initial recipients were Italy’s Nicola Pietrangeli, who heads the elite list of players having played 66 home or away ties for his country; and San Marino’s Domenico Vicini, who holds the record for the most ties played in all levels of the competition with a total of 89.

This weekend presentations were made to the following players at their respective Davis Cup home ties before the doubles rubber on Saturday 5 April.

Japan – Go Soeda

Korea, Rep. – Lee Hyung-Taik

Mexico – Miguel Gallardo-Valles, Santiago Gonzalez, Leonardo Lavalle, Mario Llamas, Jorge Lozano

Norway – Jan-Frode Andersen

Slovak Republic – Michal Mertinak

South Africa – Rik de Voest*

Switzerland – Stanislas Wawrinka

Thailand – Vittaya Samrej, Paradorn Srichaphan, Woraphol Thongkhamchu

* playing his 20th tie this weekend

A total of 317 players have already qualified to receive the award. Presentations will be made to award winners at Davis Cup home ties throughout 2014. The Commitment Award trophies are based on the design of the current Davis Cup trophy. All recipients will also be recognised on an honours board at the ITF headquarters in London and in a dedicated section on the official Davis Cup website.

ITF President Francesco Ricci Bitti said: “The Davis Cup Commitment Award reflects the dedication by players for more than a century to represent their country in this prestigious competition. These players have continued to rise to the unique challenge of competing in a team environment in front of their home fans, and we believe that it is fitting to recognise their efforts.”

About Davis Cup by BNP Paribas

Davis Cup by BNP Paribas is the World Cup of Tennis. It is the largest annual international team competition in sport, with 122 nations taking part in 2014. The competition is 114 years old having been founded in 1900. The title sponsor is BNP Paribas, the Official Bank of Davis Cup. International sponsors are Rolex (Official Timekeeper) Adecco (Official HR Sponsor) and NH Hotels (Official Hotel), while Wilson Sporting Goods (Official Ball) is an international partner. —- ITF