Jump to content

1978 Davis Cup

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1978 Davis Cup
Details
Duration27 August 1977 – 10 December 1978
Edition67th
Teams50
Champion
Winning nation United States
1977
1979

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.

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

[edit]

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

[edit]

North & Central America Zone

[edit]

South America Zone

[edit]

Preliminary rounds

[edit]

Main Draw

[edit]
Semifinals
18–20 December 1977
Final
17–19 March
Santiago, Chile
 Chile5
Santiago, Chile (clay)
 Uruguay0
 Chile3
 Argentina2
bye
 Argentina

Americas Inter-Zonal Final

[edit]

Chile vs. United States


Chile
2
Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile[7]
15–17 September 1978
Clay[8]

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

Eastern Zone

[edit]

Preliminary rounds

[edit]

Main Draw

[edit]
Quarterfinals
9–12 December 1977
Semifinals
19–22 January
Final
24–26 February
 Australia
Tokyo, Japan (clay)
bye
 Australia5
Tokyo, Japan
 Japan0
 Indonesia1
Adelaide, Australia (grass)
 Japan4
 Australia4
Coimbatore, India
 New Zealand0
 South Korea1
New Delhi, India
 India4
 India1
 New Zealand4
bye
 New Zealand

Final

[edit]

Australia vs. New Zealand


Australia
4
Memorial Drive, Adelaide, Australia[9]
24–26 February 1978
Grass

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

Europe Zone

[edit]

Zone A

[edit]

Preliminary rounds

[edit]

Main Draw

[edit]
Quarterfinals
16–18 June
Semifinals
13–15 July
Final
15–17 September
 France
Paris, France (clay)
bye
 France2
Bristol, United Kingdom (grass)
 Great Britain3
 Great Britain5
Eastbourne, United Kingdom (grass)
 Austria0
 Great Britain5
Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)
 Czechoslovakia0
 Czechoslovakia3
Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)
 Poland2
 Czechoslovakia5
 Romania0
bye
 Romania

Final

[edit]

Great Britain vs. Czechoslovakia


Great Britain
5
Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, United Kingdom[10]
15–17 September 1978
Grass

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

Zone B

[edit]

Pre-qualifying round

[edit]
Pre-qualifying round
Casablanca, Morocco
 Morocco5
 Turkey0

Preliminary rounds

[edit]

Main Draw

[edit]
Quarterfinals
13–18 June
Semifinals
13–16 July
Final
15–17 September
 Spain
Båstad, Sweden (clay)
bye
 Spain2
Belgrade, Yugoslavia (clay)
 Sweden3
 Yugoslavia2
Båstad, Sweden (clay)
 Sweden3
 Sweden3
Budapest, Hungary
 Hungary1
 Hungary3
Budapest, Hungary
 West Germany2
 Hungary4
 Italy1
bye
 Italy

Final

[edit]

Sweden vs. Hungary


Sweden
3
Båstad Tennis Stadium, Båstad, Sweden[11]
15–17 September 1978
Clay

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

Inter-Zonal Zone

[edit]

Draw

[edit]
Semifinals
6–8 October
Final
8–10 December
Gothenburg, Sweden (indoor carpet)
EUR-B Sweden2
Rancho Mirage, CA, United States (hard)
AME United States3
AME United States4
London, United Kingdom (indoor carpet)
EUR-A Great Britain1
EAS Australia2
EUR-A Great Britain3

Semifinals

[edit]

Sweden vs. United States


Sweden
2
Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden[12]
6–8 October 1978
Carpet (indoors)

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

Great Britain vs. Australia


Great Britain
3
National Sports Centre, London, United Kingdom[13]
6–8 October 1978
Carpet (indoors)

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

Final

[edit]

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

References

[edit]
  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. ^ a b "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. ^ "Jaime Fillol vs Brian Gottfried". atptour.com.
  9. ^ "Australia v New Zealand". daviscup.com.
  10. ^ "Great Britain v Czechoslovakia". daviscup.com.
  11. ^ "Sweden v Hungary". daviscup.com.
  12. ^ "Sweden v United States". daviscup.com.
  13. ^ "Great Britain v Australia". daviscup.com.
[edit]