1978 Davis Cup

The 1978 Davis Cup was the 67th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 50 teams entered the competition, 29 in the Europe Zone, 10 in the Americas Zone, and 11 in the Eastern Zone.

1978 Davis Cup
Details
Duration27 August 1977 – 10 December 1978
Edition67th
Teams50
Champion
Winning Nation United States
1977
1979

The United States defeated Chile in the Americas Inter-Zonal final, Australia defeated New Zealand in the Eastern Zone final, and Great Britain and Sweden were the winners of the two Europe Zones, defeating Czechoslovakia and Hungary respectively.

In the Inter-Zonal Zone, the United States defeated Sweden and Great Britain defeated Australia in the semifinals. The United States then defeated Great Britain in the final to win their 25th title overall and their first since 1972. The final was held at the Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, United States on 8–10 December.[1][2]

Political controversy

The competition was significantly marked by political issues: Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, and the Caribbean/West Indies all withdrew from the North & Central America Zone due to the continued presence of South Africa in the competition, despite continued international condemnation of their government's apartheid policies.[3]

The North & Central America Zone final between the United States and South Africa, held at Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee, attracted crowds of up to 5,000 protesters each day, and efforts by the South African side to appease critics by nominating Peter Lamb as its first "coloured" player were derided by some as tokenism, given he did not actually play during the tie and was a student enrolled at Vanderbilt University at the time of the tournament.[4][5][6]

The Soviet Union continued to be barred for competing following its refusal to compete against Chile in the 1976 semifinals and its promised refusal to compete against South Africa.

Americas Zone

North & Central America Zone

  Semifinals
15–17 December 1977
Final
17–19 March
                 
 
    United States  
   bye     Nashville, TN, United States (indoor carpet)
      United States 4
  Johannesburg, South Africa     South Africa 1
    South Africa 4
    Colombia 1  

Preliminary Rounds

  First Round
1–6 November 1977
Qualifying Round
9–11 December 1977
                 
  Chile  
Santiago, Chile
 bye  
    Chile 5
Lima, Peru
    Bolivia 0
  Peru 0
  Bolivia 5  
Montevideo, Uruguay (clay)
  Uruguay 3  
Montevideo, Uruguay
  Ecuador 2  
    Uruguay 4
    Brazil 1
 bye
  Brazil  

Main Draw

  Semifinals
18–20 December 1977
Final
17–19 March
                 
  Santiago, Chile
    Chile 5  
    Uruguay 0     Santiago, Chile (clay)
      Chile 3
      Argentina 2
   bye
    Argentina  

Americas Inter-Zonal Final

Chile vs. United States


Chile
2
Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile [7]
15–17 September 1978

United States
3
1 2 3 4 5
1
Jaime Fillol
Brian Gottfried
4
6
5
7
2
6
     
2
Hans Gildemeister
Harold Solomon
5
7
6
3
3
6
1
6
   
3
Jaime Fillol / Belus Prajoux
Brian Gottfried / John McEnroe
6
3
3
6
6
8
3
6
   
4
Jaime Fillol
Harold Solomon
6
3
6
2
       
5
Hans Gildemeister
Brian Gottfried
4
6
7
5
12
10
     

Eastern Zone

Preliminary Rounds

  First Round
1–10 October 1977
Qualifying Round
21–30 October 1977
                 
Manila, Philippines
  Philippines 5  
Manila, Philippines
  Thailand 0  
    Philippines 1
Tokyo, Japan
    Japan 4
  Japan 5
  Chinese Taipei 0  
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  Pakistan 4  
Seoul, South Korea
  Malaysia 0  
    Pakistan 2
    South Korea 3
 bye
  South Korea  

Main Draw

  Quarterfinals
9–12 December 1977
Semifinals
19–22 January
Final
24–26 February
                           
 
    Australia  
   bye     Tokyo, Japan (clay)
      Australia 5  
  Tokyo, Japan     Japan 0  
    Indonesia 1
    Japan 4     Adelaide, Australia (grass)
      Australia 4
  Coimbatore, India       New Zealand 0
    South Korea 1  
    India 4     New Delhi, India
      India 1
      New Zealand 4  
   bye
    New Zealand  

Final

Australia vs. New Zealand


Australia
4
Memorial Drive, Adelaide, Australia [8]
24–26 February 1978
Grass

New Zealand
0
1 2 3 4 5
1
Tony Roche
Chris Lewis
13
11
6
3
6
2
     
2
John Alexander
Brian Fairlie
6
4
6
4
6
4
     
3
John Alexander / Tony Roche
Brian Fairlie / Chris Lewis
6
3
6
4
12
14
4
6
6
1
 
4
John Alexander
Chris Lewis
8
10
16
14
6
1
9
7
   
5
Allan Stone
Brian Fairlie
2
6
6
1
      not
completed

Europe Zone

Preliminary Rounds

  First Round
10–12 August 1977
16–18 September 1977
Qualifying Round
17–19 March
                 
Monte Carlo, Monaco
  Monaco 5  
Monte Carlo, Monaco (clay)
  Luxembourg 0  
    Monaco 0
    Great Britain 5
 bye
  Great Britain  
Tel Aviv, Israel (hard)
  Israel 5  
Tel Aviv, Israel (hard)
  Finland 0  
    Israel 2
    Austria 3
 bye
  Austria  
  Czechoslovakia  
Prague, Czechoslovakia (indoor clay)
 bye  
    Czechoslovakia 3
Zeist, Netherlands (clay)
    Netherlands 1
  Netherlands 4
  Greece 1  
  Poland  
Warsaw, Poland
 bye  
    Poland 4
Algiers, Algeria (clay)
    Iran 1
  Algeria 1
  Iran 4  

Main Draw

  Quarterfinals
16–18 June
Semifinals
13–15 July
Final
15–17 September
                           
 
    France  
   bye     Paris, France (clay)
      France 2  
  Bristol, United Kingdom (grass)     Great Britain 3  
    Great Britain 5
    Austria 0     Eastbourne, United Kingdom (grass)
      Great Britain 5
  Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)       Czechoslovakia 0
    Czechoslovakia 3  
    Poland 2     Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)
      Czechoslovakia 5
      Romania 0  
   bye
    Romania  

Final

Great Britain vs. Czechoslovakia


Great Britain
5
Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, United Kingdom [9]
15–17 September 1978
Grass

Czechoslovakia
0
1 2 3 4 5
1
John Lloyd
Jiří Hřebec
9
7
6
3
4
6
5
7
12
10
 
2
Buster Mottram
Ivan Lendl
6
4
7
5
7
5
     
3
Mark Cox / David Lloyd
Jan Kodeš / Tomáš Šmíd
6
4
13
15
6
4
2
6
6
4
 
4
Mark Cox
Ivan Lendl
6
2
6
4
6
3
     
5
Buster Mottram
Jiří Hřebec
5
7
3
6
6
3
6
4
6
0
 

Pre-Qualifying Round

  Pre-Qualifying Round
27–29 August 1977
       
  Casablanca, Morocco
    Morocco 5
    Turkey 0

Preliminary Rounds

  First Round
16–18 September 1977
Qualifying Round
17–19 March
                 
Casablanca, Morocco (clay)
  Morocco 4  
Casablanca, Morocco
  Norway 1  
    Morocco 0
    Yugoslavia 5
 bye
  Yugoslavia  
Dublin, Ireland (grass)
  Ireland 4  
Dublin, Ireland (indoor hard)
  Portugal 1  
    Ireland 0
    Sweden 5
 bye
  Sweden  
  Hungary  
Pécs, Hungary
 bye  
    Hungary 4
Brussels, Belgium (clay)
    Belgium 1
  Belgium 3
  Denmark 2  
Lucerne, Switzerland
   Switzerland 5  
Zürich, Switzerland
  Egypt 0  
     Switzerland 0
    West Germany 5
 bye
  West Germany  

Main Draw

  Quarterfinals
13–18 June
Semifinals
13–16 July
Final
15–17 September
                           
 
    Spain  
   bye     Båstad, Sweden (clay)
      Spain 2  
  Belgrade, Yugoslavia (clay)     Sweden 3  
    Yugoslavia 2
    Sweden 3     Båstad, Sweden (clay)
      Sweden 3
  Budapest, Hungary       Hungary 1
    Hungary 3  
    West Germany 2     Budapest, Hungary
      Hungary 4
      Italy 1  
   bye
    Italy  

Final

Sweden vs. Hungary


Sweden
3
Båstad Tennis Stadium, Båstad, Sweden [10]
15–17 September 1978
Clay

Hungary
1
1 2 3 4 5
1
Kjell Johansson
Balázs Taróczy
7
5
6
2
6
4
     
2
Björn Borg
Péter Szőke
6
2
6
0
6
0
     
3
Ove Bengtson / Tenny Svensson
Péter Szőke / Balázs Taróczy
2
6
1
6
10
12
     
4
Kjell Johansson
Péter Szőke
3
6
7
5
6
1
3
6
6
1
 
5
Tenny Svensson
Balázs Taróczy
2
6
6
4
5
5
    not
completed

Inter-Zonal Zone

Draw

  Semifinals
6–8 October
Final
8–10 December
                 
  Gothenburg, Sweden (indoor carpet)
  EUR-B   Sweden 2  
  AME   United States 3     Rancho Mirage, CA, United States (hard)
    AME   United States 4
  London, United Kingdom (indoor carpet)   EUR-A   Great Britain 1
  EAS   Australia 2
  EUR-A   Great Britain 3  

Semifinals

Sweden vs. United States


Sweden
2
Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden [11]
6–8 October 1978
Carpet (indoors)

United States
3
1 2 3 4 5
1
Björn Borg
Arthur Ashe
6
4
7
5
6
3
     
2
Kjell Johansson
Vitas Gerulaitis
2
6
1
6
4
6
     
3
Ove Bengtson / Björn Borg
Bob Lutz / Stan Smith
6
2
3
6
6
3
5
7
3
6
 
4
Kjell Johansson
Arthur Ashe
2
6
0
6
5
7
     
5
Björn Borg
Vitas Gerulaitis
6
3
6
1
       

Great Britain vs. Australia


Great Britain
3
National Sports Centre, London, United Kingdom [12]
6–8 October 1978
Carpet (indoors)

Australia
2
1 2 3 4 5
1
Buster Mottram
Tony Roche
8
6
3
6
7
5
6
4
   
2
John Lloyd
John Alexander
7
5
6
2
6
2
     
3
Mark Cox / David Lloyd
Ross Case / Geoff Masters
8
6
3
6
6
4
6
3
   
4
John Lloyd
Tony Roche
3
6
3
6
2
6
     
5
Buster Mottram
John Alexander
2
6
3
6
2
6
     

Final

United States vs. Great Britain


United States
4
Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, CA, United States [2]
8–10 December 1978
Hard

Great Britain
1
1 2 3 4 5
1
John McEnroe
John Lloyd
6
1
6
2
6
2
     
2
Brian Gottfried
Buster Mottram
6
4
6
2
8
10
4
6
3
6
 
3
Bob Lutz / Stan Smith
Mark Cox / David Lloyd
6
2
6
2
6
3
     
4
John McEnroe
Buster Mottram
6
2
6
2
6
1
     
5
Brian Gottfried
John Lloyd
6
1
6
2
6
4
     

References

  1. Bud Collins (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 495–496, 499. ISBN 978-0942257700.
  2. "United States v Great Britain". daviscup.com.
  3. "Canada heads pullout from 1978 Davis Cup". Montreal Gazette. Reuters. 4 July 1977. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  4. "African Activist Archive". Africanactivist.msu.edu. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  5. Jim Jerome (20 March 1978). "Apartheid Critics Say He's Merely a Token, but Peter Lamb's Davis Cup Runneth Over". People.com. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  6. "The Crisis". Retrieved 26 October 2019 via Google Books.
  7. "Chile v United States". daviscup.com.
  8. "Australia v New Zealand". daviscup.com.
  9. "Great Britain v Czechoslovakia". daviscup.com.
  10. "Sweden v Hungary". daviscup.com.
  11. "Sweden v United States". daviscup.com.
  12. "Great Britain v Australia". daviscup.com.
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