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1978 Davis Cup

Details
Duration	27 August 1977 – 10 December 1978
Edition	67th
Teams	50
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.

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.

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.

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

South America Zone

Preliminary rounds

	First Round					Qualifying Round
	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
						Santiago, Chile (clay)
	Uruguay		0
						Chile		3
						Argentina		2
	bye
	Argentina

Americas Inter-Zonal Final

Chile vs. United States

Chile 2	Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile 15–17 September 1978 Clay		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					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 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

Zone A

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 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

Zone B

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

Quarterfinals 13–18 June

Semifinals 13–16 July

Final 15–17 September

Spain

Båstad, Sweden (clay)

bye

Spain

2

Belgrade, Yugoslavia (clay)

Sweden

3

Yugoslavia

2

Båstad, Sweden (clay)

Sweden

3

Sweden

3

Budapest, Hungary

Hungary

1

Hungary

3

Budapest, Hungary

West Germany

2

Hungary

4

Italy

1

bye

Italy

Final

Sweden vs. Hungary

Sweden 3	Båstad Tennis Stadium, Båstad, Sweden 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
						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 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 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 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 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. "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.

External links

• Davis Cup Official Website

• 1978 Davis Cup
• Davis Cups by year
• 1978 in tennis
• 1978 in American tennis
• 1978 in Australian tennis
• 1978 in English tennis
• 1978 in Chilean sport
• 1978 in Swedish tennis
• 1978 controversies in the United States
• 1978 in sports in Tennessee
• Vanderbilt University