For decades from 1937 through 1973, Australia and the U.S.A. dominated Davis Cup play.  The Aussies had a few more victories than the Americans, but NO other country won the Davis Cup during those years!  In the past decade, the Aussies have won the Davis Cup twice.  The U.S.A. last won the Cup in 1995.  In the 2006 Davis Cup semifinals, Lleyton Hewitt and the Aussie team fell to the Argentinian team led by David Nalbandian on the red clay in Buenos Aires.  The Americans tried their best on the red clay in Moscow, but the Russian team, led by two-time Grand Slam Champion Marat Safin, prevailed before their hometown crowd.  Marat Safin seems to have recharged his rackets and it’s impressive how well he can play his power game on clay… a lesson that the Americans need to learn if they hope to win on clay.  His years learning the game on clay in Spain paid off!  Both ties featured a bit of “trash-talking” to spur the competitive juices, especially between the Aussies (i.e. Lleyton Hewitt) and the Argentinians (i.e. David Nalbandian), but in the end, it was simply the stronger clay court teams that prevailed.  Tennis has always been a global game, but in the past couple decades, the strength of the sport has spread even more globally.  Croatia won the Davis Cup in 2005 and in December, either Russia will capture another Davis Cup or Argentina will be crowned Davis Cup Champion for the first time.  Regardless, the “guards” have changed and the gates have opened to even more countries.