The generous donator was a certain Mr Dwight Davis who had won the US championships in 1899 having also been an unsuccessful finalist the year before. He was, much later, to become a famous statesman and ultimately Minister of War for his country, but it was the Davis Cup that was to immortalise his name.

The principal events of the Davis Cup in it's early years may be summarised as follows:

• 1900:The British Team is totally outplayed by the Americans. What is the very first competition is held in Boston with the Americans being led out by Dwight Davis himself, the benefactor of the event. The British complain bitterly that the playing conditions are deplorable but it is quite clear that they are outclassed on the day.
• 1901 : The British make the decision not to challenge for the cup this year. It remains very expensive to take teams across the Atlantic. Dwight Davis does come to Europe however as a mark of respect to the "old country". He gets to the final of the doubles at Wimbledon, where he loses with Ward to the famous Doherty brothers.
• 1902 : A British team including, amongst others, the Doherty brothers, makes the voyage to America to contest for the cup. This meeting is much more hotly contested although the Americans manage to hang on to the cup 3/2. The British Captain makes the remark that his error was in not playing Laurie Doherty in the men's singles. Laurence was the youngest of the two brothers and had only just won the Wimbledon men's title. The British visitors take advantage of their trip to compete in the US Championship and Reggie Doherty, the oldest of the two brothers, gets to the men's final. The two brothers take solace in going on to win the men's doubles title. This is the first time that a title was won by players from overseas at the US Championships.
• 1903 : This time both of the Doherty brothers play in the men's singles and Britain takes the cup 4/1. Their only defeat is a concession by forfeit in the opening singles match! Laurie Doherty wins the Wimbledon title for the second year in a row. He goes onto win the US Championship singles title and, like the year before, the US doubles with his brother. It is, in a way, a very first Grand Slam. The nature of play for the Cup itself is much closer than the result portrays. A more detailed match report can be found below.
• 1904 : The cup remains in Britain since the Americans decide to abstain. It is however an opportunity for other European nations to have a go. Both France and Belgium take up the challenge. The Belgians beat the French 3/2 in the knock out round but go down 5/0 against the British in the Challenge Round. 
• 1905 : The cup again remains in Britain. The Americans smash the French and go on to beat newcomers Australia but are thrashed 5/0 in the Challenge Round by the British.
• 1906 : The same scenario: 5/0 for the British against the Americans. Davis Cup fever starts to spread. President Roosevelt himself follows progress of the competition closely and is most disappointed at the final result!
• 1907 : Retirement of the Doherty brothers opens up hopes for others to succeed. The final result however is a surprise to everybody. The Australians Brookes and Wilding crush all opposition and take the cup away from both Europe and America. This is also the year when Norman Brookes wins the men's singles title at Wimbledon, the first year that a foreigner takes away the title.
• 1908 : Both the Americans and the British defiantly make their way to Melbourne but the Australians retain the cup by beating the Americans 3/2.

• 1909 : The Americans are thrashed 5/0!
• 1910 : Brookes and Wilding seem invincible. Neither the Americans nor the British even bother trying to mount a challenge.
• 1911 : This year Wilding stays back in Europe as the Americans try once again. They are still beaten 5/0! (Wilding was dominant at Wimbldon over this period, winning the singles every year from 1910 to 1913).

• 1912 : The French now again decide to enter the fray but lose 4/1 against the British. The British then finally go on to beat the Australians 3/2 in an epic Challenge Round in Melbourne.
• 1913 : With the cup back in Europe, seven nations now decide to compete! The French are beaten by the Germans but it is the Americans that beat everybody else. They start with the Australians, move on to the Germans, the Canadians and finally the British 3/2 in the Challenge Round. McLoughlin is the first American to make the finals of the men's singles at Wimbledon where he is beaten by the Australian Wilding. This is also the first final at Wimbledon without a British player!

Let's now have a closer look at Laurie Doherty and Anthony Wilding who were the two most outstanding players before the outbreak of war in 1914. Each of these players, in his own way, won a grand slam: