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1977 Davis Cup

Details
Duration	25 August 1976 – 4 December 1977
Edition	66th
Teams	55
Champion
Winning nation	Australia
← 1976 1978 →

The 1977 Davis Cup was the 66th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 59 teams would enter the competition, 33 in the Europe Zone, 14 in the Americas Zone, and 12 in the Eastern Zone. Algeria made its first appearance in the tournament.

Argentina defeated the United States in the Americas Zone final, Australia defeated New Zealand in the Eastern Zone final, and France and Italy were the winners of the two Europe Zones, defeating Romania and Spain respectively.

In the Inter-Zonal Zone, Australia defeated Argentina and Italy defeated France in the semifinals. Australia then defeated the defending champions Italy in the final to win their 24th title overall and their first since 1973. The final was held at the White City Stadium in Sydney, Australia on 2–4 December.

Politics in the Davis Cup

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s the Davis Cup had been affected by a number of protests and defaults by teams showing their opposition to the apartheid policies and white minority rule in South Africa and Rhodesia, and the human rights violations which occurred in Chile under Augusto Pinochet's military junta.

Several high-profile incidents included Mexico's refusal to play South Africa in the 1975 and 1976 Americas Zones, widespread protests in Sweden against the Pinochet junta during the 1975 Inter-Zonal semifinal between Sweden and Chile, and South Africa being awarded the Cup by default in 1974 after India refused to travel to South Africa for the final.

This show of political will in a sporting context was not welcomed by some, and for a brief time the United States, the inaugural winner of the cup, announced their decision to withdraw from the competition due to the apparent lenience of the tournament's organisers to prevent defaults by teams. In a show of solidarity, Great Britain and France also announced their intention to withdraw.

In response to these withdrawals, the Davis Cup committee made a greater commitment to keep politics out of the competition. The committee subsequently disqualified the Soviet Union as punishment for refusing to play Chile in the 1976 Inter-Zonal semifinals - the Soviets had already been barred from competing in the Federation Cup for refusing to play against South Africa and Rhodesia - from the tournament. The Soviet Union would have their entry rejected in 1978 after informing officials they would refuse to compete against South Africa.

Proposals were also brought forward to bring in an automatic one-year ban for any nation which pulled out of the tournament after the draw had been made, in an effort to prevent teams from defaulting on political grounds: The United States, Great Britain and France all returned and competed in the 1977 tournament.

Americas Zone

Preliminary rounds

	First Round					Qualifying Round
	Brazil
						São Paulo, Brazil
	bye
						Brazil		4
	La Paz, Bolivia (clay)
						Bolivia		0
	Bolivia		4
	Peru		1
	Argentina
						Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay)
	bye
						Argentina		4
	Montevideo, Uruguay (clay)
						Ecuador		1
	Uruguay		2
	Ecuador		3
	Caracas, Venezuela
	Venezuela		4
						Caracas, Venezuela
	Colombia		0
						Venezuela		1
						United States		4
	bye
	United States
	Ottawa, Canada (indoor carpet)
	Canada		5
						Ottawa, Canada (indoor carpet)
	Caribbean/West Indies		0
						Canada		2
						Mexico		3
	bye
	Mexico

Main Draw

Quarterfinals 17–19 December 1976

Semifinals 18–20 March; 15–17 April

Final 28 April–1 May

Chile

Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay)

bye

Chile

1

São Paulo, Brazil (clay)

Argentina

4

Brazil

2

Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay)

Argentina

3

Argentina

3

Tucson, AZ, United States (hard)

United States

2

United States

4

Newport Beach, CA, United States (hard)

Mexico

1

United States

4

South Africa

1

bye

South Africa

Final

Argentina vs. United States

Argentina 3	Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina 28 April–1 May 1977 Clay		United States 2
1 2 3 4 5 1 Ricardo Cano Dick Stockton 3 6 6 4 8 6 6 4     2 Guillermo Vilas Brian Gottfried 6 4 6 0 6 2       3 Lito Álvarez / Ricardo Cano Fred McNair / Sherwood Stewart 3 6 3 6 3 6       4 Guillermo Vilas Dick Stockton 5 7 6 2 6 2 6 2     5 Ricardo Cano Brian Gottfried 5 7 5 7 0 6

Eastern Zone

Preliminary rounds

	First Round					Qualifying Round
	Manila, Philippines
	Philippines		4
	Sri Lanka		0
						Philippines
	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
						Thailand		w/o
	Malaysia		1
	Thailand		4
	South Korea		w/o
						Seoul, South Korea
	Pakistan
						South Korea		2
	Tokyo, Japan (hard)
						Japan		3
	Japan		5
	Chinese Taipei		0

Main Draw

Quarterfinals 2–12 December 1976

Semifinals 21–23 January

Final 11–13 February

New Zealand

Auckland, New Zealand (grass)

bye

New Zealand

5

Jakarta, Indonesia

Indonesia

0

Indonesia

5

Auckland, New Zealand (grass)

Thailand

0

New Zealand

0

New Delhi, India

Australia

4

Japan

2

Perth, Australia (grass)

India

3

India

0

Australia

5

bye

Australia

Final

New Zealand vs. Australia

New Zealand 0	Stanley Street, Auckland, New Zealand 11–13 February 1977 Grass		Australia 4
1 2 3 4 5 1 Onny Parun Mark Edmondson 3 6 5 7 7 5 4 6     2 Brian Fairlie John Alexander 3 6 2 6 3 6       3 Brian Fairlie / Onny Parun John Alexander / Phil Dent 1 6 6 3 6 4 1 6 4 6   4 Onny Parun John Alexander 11 9 6 4 4 6 3 6 4 6   5 Chris Lewis Mark Edmondson 4 6 6 4 4 6     not completed

Europe Zone

Zone A

Pre-qualifying rounds

	First Round					Qualifying Round
	Iran
						Algiers, Algeria (clay)
	bye
						Iran		4
						Algeria		1
	Algeria		w/o
	Morocco

Preliminary rounds

	First Round					Qualifying Round
	Poznań, Poland (clay)
	Norway		0
						Warsaw, Poland
	Poland		5
						Poland		3
						West Germany		1
	bye
	West Germany
	Biel, Switzerland
	Switzerland		3
						Zürich, Switzerland
	Rhodesia		2
						Switzerland		2
						France		3
	bye
	France
	Romania
						Bucharest, Romania (clay)
	bye
						Romania		5
	Brussels, Belgium
						Belgium		0
	Bulgaria		2
	Belgium		3
	Czechoslovakia
						Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)
	bye
						Czechoslovakia		5
	Dublin, Ireland
						Ireland		0
	Iran		2
	Ireland		3

Main Draw

Quarterfinals 6–8 May

Semifinals 9–11 June

Final 23–25 July

Soviet Union

bye

Soviet Union

Warsaw, Poland

France

w/o

Poland

0

Paris, France (clay)

France

5

France

3

Bucharest, Romania (clay)

Romania

2

Romania

3

Bucharest, Romania (clay)

Czechoslovakia

1

Romania

4

Great Britain

1

bye

Great Britain

Final

France vs. Romania

France 3	Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France 23–25 July 1977 Clay		Romania 2
1 2 3 4 5 1 François Jauffret Ilie Năstase 3 6 0 6 6 4 6 3 6 1   2 Patrick Proisy Dumitru Hărădău 6 2 6 4 8 6       3 Patrice Dominguez / François Jauffret Ilie Năstase / Ion Țiriac 3 6 4 6 6 3 5 7     4 François Jauffret Dumitru Hărădău 6 1 6 4 6 4       5 Patrick Proisy Ilie Năstase 4 6 6 4 6 8 1 6

Zone B

Pre-qualifying rounds

	First Round					Qualifying Round
	Israel
						Tel Aviv, Israel (hard)
	bye
						Israel		5
						Turkey		0
	Kenya
	Turkey		w/o
	Luxembourg
						Mondorf-les-Bains, Luxembourg
	bye
						Luxembourg		0
						Finland		5
	bye
	Finland

Preliminary rounds

	First Round					Qualifying Round
	Scheveningen, Netherlands (clay)
	Netherlands		5
						Scheveningen, Netherlands (clay)
	Israel		0
						Netherlands		0
						Yugoslavia		5
	bye
	Yugoslavia
	Athens, Greece (clay)
	Greece		3
						Athens, Greece (clay)
	Denmark		1
						Greece		0
						Spain		5
	bye
	Spain
	Sweden
						Uppsala, Sweden (indoor hard)
	bye
						Sweden		5
	Lisbon, Portugal (clay)
						Monaco		0
	Portugal		1
	Monaco		4
	Vienna, Austria
	Austria		5
						Vienna, Austria
	Finland		0
						Austria		5
						Egypt		0
	bye
	Egypt

Main Draw

Quarterfinals 6–8 May

Semifinals 15–25 July

Final 29 July–1 August

Hungary

Budapest, Hungary (clay)

bye

Hungary

2

Belgrade, Yugoslavia (clay)

Spain

3

Yugoslavia

1

Barcelona, Spain (clay)

Spain

4

Spain

2

Stockholm, Sweden (indoor carpet)

Italy

3

Sweden

5

Båstad, Sweden (clay)

Austria

0

Sweden

1

Italy

4

bye

Italy

Final

Spain vs. Italy

Spain 2	Barcelona, Spain 29 July–1 August 1977 Clay		Italy 3
1 2 3 4 5 1 José Higueras Corrado Barazzutti 6 4 6 4 6 3       2 Manuel Orantes Adriano Panatta 4 6 6 3 3 6 1 6     3 José Higueras / Antonio Muñoz Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta 4 6 5 7 4 6       4 Manuel Orantes Corrado Barazzutti 5 7 5 7 1 6       5 Javier Soler Adriano Panatta 6 1 6 0

Inter-Zonal Zone

Draw

	Semifinals 14–16 September					Final 2–4 December
	Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay)
	AME	Argentina	2
						Sydney, Australia (grass)
	EAS	Australia	3
						EAS	Australia	3
	Rome, Italy (clay)
						EUR-A	Italy	1
	EUR-B	Italy	4
	EUR-A	France	1

Semifinals

Argentina vs. Australia

Argentina 2	Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina 14–16 September 1977 Clay		Australia 3
1 2 3 4 5 1 Guillermo Vilas Phil Dent 6 2 4 6 7 5 6 3     2 Ricardo Cano John Alexander 4 6 0 6 0 6       3 Ricardo Cano / Guillermo Vilas John Newcombe / Phil Dent 2 6 6 4 7 9 6 4 2 6   4 Ricardo Cano Phil Dent 4 6 4 6 3 6       5 Guillermo Vilas John Alexander 6 4 7 5 4 6 6 2

Italy vs. France

Italy 4	Foro Italico, Rome, Italy 14–16 September 1977 Clay		France 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Adriano Panatta Patrice Dominguez 6 4 4 6 6 4 3 6 6 3   2 Corrado Barazzutti François Jauffret 6 4 2 6 2 6 6 2 6 1   3 Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta Patrice Dominguez / François Jauffret 6 1 3 6 9 7 6 1     4 Adriano Panatta François Jauffret 6 2 6 1         5 Corrado Barazzutti Patrice Dominguez 2 6 6 0 6 8

Final

Australia vs. Italy

Australia 3	White City Stadium, Sydney, Australia 2–4 December 1977 Grass		Italy 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Tony Roche Adriano Panatta 6 3 6 4 6 4       2 John Alexander Corrado Barazzutti 6 2 8 6 4 6 6 2     3 John Alexander / Phil Dent Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta 4 6 4 6 5 7       4 John Alexander Adriano Panatta 6 4 4 6 2 6 8 6 11 9   5 Tony Roche Corrado Barazzutti 12 12         not completed

References

1. Bud Collins (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). : New Chapter Press. pp. 495–496, 499. ISBN 978-0942257700.
2. ^ "Australia v Italy". daviscup.com.
3. "Mexicans Shun Davis Cup Foe". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Associated Press. 8 March 1975. Retrieved 13 October 2019.
4. Anno 75 (1976), Årskalender utgiven av Förlagshuset Norden AB, Malmö, och Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm, pp. 35, 36.
5. Seminara, Dave (2009-11-28). "The Year the Davis Cup Felt Empty". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-03-25.
6. "U.S. Pulls Out of Davis Cup In Protest". Star-News. United Press International. 2 July 1976. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
7. "Soviets Barred from Davis Cup". The Daily Sentinel. United Press International. 8 November 1976. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
8. "Argentina v United States". daviscup.com.
9. "Argentina v Australia". daviscup.com.
10. "France v Romania". daviscup.com.
11. "Spain v Italy". daviscup.com.
12. "Manuel Orantes vs Adriano Panatta". atptour.com.
13. "Argentina v Australia". daviscup.com.
14. "Italy v France". daviscup.com.

External links

• Davis Cup Official Website

• 1977 Davis Cup
• 1977 in tennis
• 1977 in Argentine tennis
• 1977 in Australian tennis
• 1977 in French tennis
• 1977 in Italian tennis
• 1977 in New Zealand tennis
• 1977 in Spanish tennis