1979 Davis Cup
The 1979 Davis Cup was the 68th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 52 teams would enter the competition, 29 in the Europe Zone, 13 in the Americas Zone, and 10 in the Eastern Zone.
Details | |
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Duration | August 1978 – 16 December 1979 |
Edition | 68th |
Teams | 49 |
Champion | |
Winning Nation | United States |
← 1978 1980 → |
Following years of protests from various national sides, South Africa were expelled from the Davis Cup for failing to abandon its apartheid policies. For many years the Davis Cup organisers had been reluctant to let political issues affect the competition, however following several years of defaults by national teams and threats of a boycott, the organisers of the tournament were forced to resolve the political disagreements by expelling the South African side.[1] Canada, Mexico, Venezuela and the Caribbean/West Indies teams had all pulled out of the 1978 tournament, and in 1977 the United States, Great Britain and France had all withdrawn in protest to the continued politicisation of the Cup before eventually re-entering following concessions.[2][3] South Africa would not be allowed to participate again in the Davis Cup until 1992, when significant progress had been made to bring about the end of apartheid.
The United States defeated Argentina in the Americas Inter-Zonal final, Australia defeated New Zealand in the Eastern Zone final, and Italy and Czechoslovakia were the winners of the two Europe Zones, defeating Great Britain and Sweden respectively.
In the Inter-Zonal Zone, the United States defeated Australia and Italy defeated Czechoslovakia in the semifinals. The United States then defeated Italy in the final to win their 26th title overall and their second consecutive title. The final was held at the Civic Auditorium in San Francisco, United States on 14–16 December.[4][5]
Americas Zone
Preliminary rounds
Main Draw
Semifinals 8–10 December 1978 | Final 16–18 March | |||||||
United States | ||||||||
Cleveland, Ohio, United States (indoor hard) | ||||||||
bye | ||||||||
United States | 5 | |||||||
Mexico City, Mexico (clay) | ||||||||
Colombia | 0 | |||||||
Mexico | 2 | |||||||
Colombia | 3 | |||||||
Preliminary rounds
Main Draw
Semifinals 8–10 December 1978 | Final 16–18 March | |||||||
Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay) | ||||||||
Argentina | 5 | |||||||
Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay) | ||||||||
Brazil | 0 | |||||||
Argentina | 3 | |||||||
Chile | 2 | |||||||
bye | ||||||||
Chile | ||||||||
Americas Inter-Zonal Final
United States vs. Argentina
United States 4 |
Racquet Club of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee, United States[6] 14–16 September 1979 Carpet (indoors) |
Argentina 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Eastern Zone
Preliminary rounds
Pre-qualifying round | Preliminary round | |||||||
Philippines | ||||||||
bye | ||||||||
Philippines | ||||||||
Peshawar, Pakistan | ||||||||
Pakistan | w/o | |||||||
Pakistan | 3 | |||||||
South Korea | 2 | |||||||
Chinese Taipei | w/o | |||||||
Jakarta, Indonesia | ||||||||
Malaysia | ||||||||
Chinese Taipei | 0 | |||||||
Indonesia | 4 | |||||||
bye | ||||||||
Indonesia | ||||||||
Main Draw
Quarterfinals 5–10 December 1978 | Semifinals 9–12 February | Final 16–19 March | |||||||||||
New Zealand | |||||||||||||
Christchurch, New Zealand (grass) | |||||||||||||
bye | |||||||||||||
New Zealand | 3 | ||||||||||||
Kasuga, Japan | |||||||||||||
Japan | 0 | ||||||||||||
Japan | 4 | ||||||||||||
Christchurch, New Zealand (grass) | |||||||||||||
Pakistan | 1 | ||||||||||||
New Zealand | 2 | ||||||||||||
Ahmedabad, India | |||||||||||||
Australia | 3 | ||||||||||||
Indonesia | 1 | ||||||||||||
Madras, India (clay) | |||||||||||||
India | 4 | ||||||||||||
India | 2 | ||||||||||||
Australia | 3 | ||||||||||||
bye | |||||||||||||
Australia | |||||||||||||
Final
New Zealand vs. Australia
New Zealand 2 |
Wilding Park, Christchurch, New Zealand[7] 16–19 March 1979 Grass |
Australia 3 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Europe Zone
Preliminary rounds
First Round | Qualifying Round | |||||||
Poland | ||||||||
Warsaw, Poland | ||||||||
bye | ||||||||
Poland | 4 | |||||||
Helsinki, Finland | ||||||||
Finland | 1 | |||||||
Finland | 5 | |||||||
Morocco | 0 | |||||||
Italy | ||||||||
Palermo, Italy (clay) | ||||||||
bye | ||||||||
Italy | 5 | |||||||
Athens, Greece (clay) | ||||||||
Denmark | 0 | |||||||
Greece | 1 | |||||||
Denmark | 4 | |||||||
Austria | ||||||||
Vienna, Austria | ||||||||
bye | ||||||||
Austria | 5 | |||||||
Cairo, Egypt (clay) | ||||||||
Egypt | 0 | |||||||
Egypt | 5 | |||||||
Portugal | 0 | |||||||
Spain | ||||||||
Barcelona, Spain | ||||||||
bye | ||||||||
Spain | 5 | |||||||
Monte Carlo, Monaco | ||||||||
Soviet Union | 0 | |||||||
Monaco | 1 | |||||||
Soviet Union | 4 | |||||||
Main Draw
Quarterfinals 15–17 June | Semifinals 13–15 July | Final 14–16 September | |||||||||||
Hungary | |||||||||||||
Rome, Italy (clay) | |||||||||||||
bye | |||||||||||||
Hungary | 2 | ||||||||||||
Warsaw, Poland | |||||||||||||
Italy | 3 | ||||||||||||
Poland | 1 | ||||||||||||
Rome, Italy (clay) | |||||||||||||
Italy | 4 | ||||||||||||
Italy | 4 | ||||||||||||
Vienna, Austria | |||||||||||||
Great Britain | 1 | ||||||||||||
Austria | 1 | ||||||||||||
Eastbourne, United Kingdom (grass) | |||||||||||||
Spain | 3 | ||||||||||||
Spain | 1 | ||||||||||||
Great Britain | 4 | ||||||||||||
bye | |||||||||||||
Great Britain | |||||||||||||
Final
Italy vs. Great Britain
Italy 4 |
Foro Italico, Rome, Italy[8] 14–16 September 1979 Clay |
Great Britain 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Preliminary rounds
First Round | Qualifying Round | |||||||
Amersfoort, Netherlands (clay) | ||||||||
Netherlands | 4 | |||||||
Amsterdam, Netherlands (indoor carpet) | ||||||||
Norway | 1 | |||||||
Netherlands | 2 | |||||||
France | 3 | |||||||
bye | ||||||||
France | ||||||||
Geneva, Switzerland | ||||||||
Switzerland | 3 | |||||||
Zürich, Switzerland | ||||||||
Iran | 2 | |||||||
Switzerland | 4 | |||||||
Yugoslavia | 1 | |||||||
bye | ||||||||
Yugoslavia | ||||||||
Israel | w/o | |||||||
Augsburg, West Germany | ||||||||
Nigeria | ||||||||
Israel | 2 | |||||||
West Germany | 3 | |||||||
bye | ||||||||
West Germany | ||||||||
Brussels, Belgium | ||||||||
Belgium | 5 | |||||||
Brussels, Belgium | ||||||||
Ireland | 0 | |||||||
Belgium | 1 | |||||||
Romania | 4 | |||||||
bye | ||||||||
Romania | ||||||||
Main Draw
Quarterfinals 15–17 June | Semifinals 13–15 July | Final 14–16 September | |||||||||||
Czechoslovakia | |||||||||||||
Paris, France (clay) | |||||||||||||
bye | |||||||||||||
Czechoslovakia | 4 | ||||||||||||
Paris, France (clay) | |||||||||||||
France | 1 | ||||||||||||
France | 5 | ||||||||||||
Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay) | |||||||||||||
Switzerland | 0 | ||||||||||||
Czechoslovakia | 3 | ||||||||||||
Bucharest, Romania (clay) | |||||||||||||
Sweden | 2 | ||||||||||||
Romania | 4 | ||||||||||||
Bucharest, Romania (clay) | |||||||||||||
West Germany | 1 | ||||||||||||
Romania | 2 | ||||||||||||
Sweden | 3 | ||||||||||||
bye | |||||||||||||
Sweden | |||||||||||||
Final
Czechoslovakia vs. Sweden
Czechoslovakia 3 |
Štvanice Stadium, Prague, Czechoslovakia[9] 14–16 September 1979 Clay |
Sweden 2 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Inter-Zonal Zone
Draw
Semifinals 5–8 October | Final 14–16 December | |||||||
Sydney, Australia (grass) | ||||||||
AME | United States | 4 | ||||||
San Francisco, United States (indoor carpet) | ||||||||
EAS | Australia | 1 | ||||||
AME | United States | 5 | ||||||
Rome, Italy (clay) | ||||||||
EUR-A | Italy | 0 | ||||||
EUR-B | Czechoslovakia | 1 | ||||||
EUR-A | Italy | 4 | ||||||
Semifinals
Australia vs. United States
Australia 1 |
White City Stadium, Sydney, Australia[10] 5–8 October 1979 Grass |
United States 4 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Italy vs. Czechoslovakia
Italy 4 |
Foro Italico, Rome, Italy[11] 5–7 October 1979 Clay |
Czechoslovakia 1 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Final
United States vs. Italy
United States 5 |
Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, United States[5] 14–16 December 1979 Carpet (indoors) |
Italy 0 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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References
- "South Africa Expelled from Cup Play". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. 17 April 1978. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- "Canada heads pullout from 1978 Davis Cup". Montreal Gazette. Reuters. 4 July 1977. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
- "U.S. Withdraws from Davis Cup". Deseret News. Associated Press. 1 July 1976. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
- 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 Italy". daviscup.com.
- "United States v Argentina". daviscup.com.
- "New Zealand v Australia". daviscup.com.
- "Italy v Great Britain". daviscup.com.
- "Czechoslovakia v Sweden". daviscup.com.
- "Australia v United States". daviscup.com.
- "Italy v Czechoslovakia". daviscup.com.