San Diego, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - The 2014 first-round Davis Cup tie between Great Britain and the host United States will be played at San Diego's Petco Park from Jan. 31-Feb. 2.
The matches will be staged on a clay court in a temporary stadium built in left field, with an expected capacity of approximately 8,000.
Petco Park is 42,000-seat baseball stadium that serves as the home of the San Diego Padres.
"We are proud to bring Davis Cup to San Diego and tennis to Petco Park," said Padres president and CEO Mike Dee. "This ballpark was built on the promise of being a multi-use venue that would bring year-round events to San Diego. We look forward to seeing the transformation of left field into a state-of-the- art clay court tennis venue."
It will be the first time Davis Cup is played in an open-air baseball stadium in the United States and the first time the U.S. Davis Cup team hosts a tie on clay since the 1992 semifinals, when the Americans beat Sweden, 4-1, in Minneapolis.
The best-of-five tie will mark a renewal of the Davis Cup's oldest rivalry. The 32-time champion U.S. and Britain first met in 1900. The U.S. last faced Great Britain in the 1999 World Group first round in England and won 3-2, when current American captain Jim Courier rallied in the fifth and deciding rubber to defeat Greg Rusedski in the fifth set, 8-6.
The U.S. holds an 11-7 record against Great Britain in Davis Cup play, winning the last four ties. Britain's last win in the series came in 1935. The 1999 first-round tie was the only meeting between the two nations under the current World Group format.
The Brits are in the World Group for the first time since 2008, with the help of Wimbledon champion Andy Murray.
The United States-Great Britain winner will face the Argentina-Italy winner in April.
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