Aberdeen Cup
The Aberdeen Cup was an annual tennis tournament held between national teams representing England and Scotland. It was hosted in the Aberdeen Exhibition Centre in Aberdeen, Scotland. The tournament has not been played since 2006 and there has been no indication that the tournament will be played again.
The tournament was held in a similar form to a Davis Cup match.[1] There were rubbers in both singles and doubles play. Unlike the Davis Cup, there were also junior players taking part, with each of their rubbers worth half that of a senior rubber, and one ladies player on each team. Furthermore, with the exception of the 'headline' matches, between the two team captains, senior matches were only two sets long, with a 1-1 tie settled by tie-break. The junior matches were played over four games (see: Tennis score). The Scotland team was captained by Andy Murray, with Greg Rusedski captaining the England side.[2]
The involvement of Andy Murray, who rose into the top 100 in the ATP rankings in 2005, was largely the source of public interest in the competition.[3] The inaugural tournament, held in that year, was won by Scotland.[4] The following year Scotland successfully defended their title admist criticism from Murray regarding the court surface and the ticket prices, as well as low attendance rates compared to the previous year, and the perceived lack of quality English players for future events.[5]
Both tournaments held were broadcast on Sky Sports.
Results
| Year | Winner | Score | Loser | Score | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 |  Scotland |
4½ |  England |
2½ | Aberdeen Exhibition Centre |
| 2006 | Scotland |
6½ | England |
1 |
References
- ↑ "Murray & Rusedski announce clash". BBC Sport. 12 October 2005. Retrieved 24 October 2013.
- ↑ Newman, Paul (25 November 2006). "Creaking Rusedski plans to soldier on". The Independent (London). Retrieved 24 October 2013.
- ↑ Hodgkinson, Mark (28 November 2005). "Cup rests on whim of Murray". The Telegraph (London). Retrieved 23 October 2013.
- ↑ Bierley, Steve (28 November 2005). "Murray's home show ends in hollow triumph". The Guardian (London). Retrieved 23 October 2013.
- ↑ Robertson, Rob (27 November 2006). "Murray wants a sport for all Scot hits out at tennis elitism and the Aberdeen Cup". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 23 October 2013.