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.
Details | |
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Duration | 27 August 1977 – 10 December 1978 |
Edition | 67th |
Teams | 50 |
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 | Final | |||||||
United States | ||||||||
Nashville, TN, United States (indoor carpet) | ||||||||
bye | ||||||||
United States | 4 | |||||||
Johannesburg, South Africa | ||||||||
South Africa | 1 | |||||||
South Africa | 4 | |||||||
Colombia | 1 | |||||||
Preliminary rounds
Main Draw
Americas Inter-Zonal Final
Chile vs. United States
Chile 2 |
Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile[7] 15–17 September 1978 Clay[8] |
United States 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Eastern Zone
Preliminary rounds
First Round | Qualifying Round | |||||||
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 | |||||||||||||
Tokyo, Japan (clay) | |||||||||||||
bye | |||||||||||||
Australia | 5 | ||||||||||||
Tokyo, Japan | |||||||||||||
Japan | 0 | ||||||||||||
Indonesia | 1 | ||||||||||||
Adelaide, Australia (grass) | |||||||||||||
Japan | 4 | ||||||||||||
Australia | 4 | ||||||||||||
Coimbatore, India | |||||||||||||
New Zealand | 0 | ||||||||||||
South Korea | 1 | ||||||||||||
New Delhi, India | |||||||||||||
India | 4 | ||||||||||||
India | 1 | ||||||||||||
New Zealand | 4 | ||||||||||||
bye | |||||||||||||
New Zealand | |||||||||||||
Final
Australia vs. New Zealand
Australia 4 |
Memorial Drive, Adelaide, Australia[9] 24–26 February 1978 Grass |
New Zealand 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Europe Zone
Preliminary rounds
First Round | Qualifying Round | |||||||
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 | |||||||||||||
Paris, France (clay) | |||||||||||||
bye | |||||||||||||
France | 2 | ||||||||||||
Bristol, United Kingdom (grass) | |||||||||||||
Great Britain | 3 | ||||||||||||
Great Britain | 5 | ||||||||||||
Eastbourne, United Kingdom (grass) | |||||||||||||
Austria | 0 | ||||||||||||
Great Britain | 5 | ||||||||||||
Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay) | |||||||||||||
Czechoslovakia | 0 | ||||||||||||
Czechoslovakia | 3 | ||||||||||||
Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay) | |||||||||||||
Poland | 2 | ||||||||||||
Czechoslovakia | 5 | ||||||||||||
Romania | 0 | ||||||||||||
bye | |||||||||||||
Romania | |||||||||||||
Final
Great Britain vs. Czechoslovakia
Great Britain 5 |
Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, United Kingdom[10] 15–17 September 1978 Grass |
Czechoslovakia 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pre-qualifying round
Pre-qualifying round | |||
Casablanca, Morocco | |||
Morocco | 5 | ||
Turkey | 0 | ||
Preliminary rounds
First Round | Qualifying Round | |||||||
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
Final
Sweden vs. Hungary
Sweden 3 |
Båstad Tennis Stadium, Båstad, Sweden[11] 15–17 September 1978 Clay |
Hungary 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Inter-Zonal Zone
Draw
Semifinals 6–8 October | Final 8–10 December | |||||||
Gothenburg, Sweden (indoor carpet) | ||||||||
EUR-B | Sweden | 2 | ||||||
Rancho Mirage, CA, United States (hard) | ||||||||
AME | United States | 3 | ||||||
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[12] 6–8 October 1978 Carpet (indoors) |
United States 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Great Britain vs. Australia
Great Britain 3 |
National Sports Centre, London, United Kingdom[13] 6–8 October 1978 Carpet (indoors) |
Australia 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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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 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References
- Bud Collins (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 495–496, 499. ISBN 978-0942257700.
- "United States v Great Britain". daviscup.com.
- "Canada heads pullout from 1978 Davis Cup". Montreal Gazette. Reuters. 4 July 1977. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
- "African Activist Archive". Africanactivist.msu.edu. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
- 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.
- "The Crisis". Retrieved 26 October 2019 – via Google Books.
- "Chile v United States". daviscup.com.
- "Jaime Fillol vs Brian Gottfried". atptour.com.
- "Australia v New Zealand". daviscup.com.
- "Great Britain v Czechoslovakia". daviscup.com.
- "Sweden v Hungary". daviscup.com.
- "Sweden v United States". daviscup.com.
- "Great Britain v Australia". daviscup.com.