1978 Davis Cup

1978 Davis Cup

Details
Edition	67th
Achievements (singles)
← 1977 1979 →

The 1978 Davis Cup was the 67th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 48 teams would enter the competition, 29 in the Europe Zone, 11 in the Eastern Zone, and 8 in the Americas Zone.

The United States defeated Chile in the Americas Zone final, Australia defeated New Zealand in the Eastern Zone final, and Great Britain and Sweden won the Europe Zones. In the Inter-Zonal Zone, Great Britain defeated Australia and the USA defeated Sweden. The USA defeated Great Britain in the final, which was held at Mission Hills Country Club in Rancho Mirage, California, United States, on 8–10 December.

The competition was significantly affected by political issues. Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, and the Caribbean/West Indies withdrew in protest over South Africa's participation, and the Soviet Union was barred for the second consecutive year, for its refusal to contest matches against Chile and its promised refusal to compete against either South Africa or Rhodesia.

The South Africa / United States tie, at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, attracted crowds of up to 5000 protesters each day. In an effort to appease its critics, South Africa named Peter Lamb as one of the six members of its team, as its first-ever "coloured" player. However, Lamb did not play, and his inclusion in the squad was derided as tokenism.

After a decade of dispute, South Africa would be excluded from the 1979 competition, and would not be allowed to compete again until 1992.

Americas Zone

Main article: 1978 Davis Cup Americas Zone

North & Central America Zone

Main draw

Participating Teams

• Colombia
• South Africa
• United States — advanced to Americas Inter-Zonal Final

South America Zone

Preliminary Rounds

Participating Teams

• Bolivia
• Brazil
• Chile — advanced to Main Draw
• Ecuador
• Peru
• Uruguay — advanced to Main Draw

Main draw

Participating Teams

• Argentina
• Chile — advanced to Americas Inter-Zonal Final
• Uruguay

Americas Inter-Zonal Final

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

• United States advance to Inter-Zonal Zone

Eastern Zone

Main article: 1978 Davis Cup Eastern Zone

Preliminary Rounds

Participating Teams

• Chinese Taipei
• Japan — advanced to Main Draw
• Malaysia
• Pakistan
• Philippines
• South Korea — advanced to Main Draw
• Thailand

Main draw

Participating Teams

• Australia
• India
• Indonesia
• Japan
• New Zealand
• South Korea

Final

Australia 4	Memorial Drive Tennis Centre, 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

• Australia advance to Inter-Zonal Zone

Europe Zone

Main article: 1978 Davis Cup Europe Zone

Zone A

Qualifying Rounds

Participating Teams

• Morocco — advanced to Preliminary Rounds
• Turkey

Preliminary Rounds

Participating Teams

• Belgium
• Denmark
• Egypt
• Hungary — advanced to Main Draw
• Ireland
• Morocco
• Norway
• Portugal
• Sweden — advanced to Main Draw
• Switzerland
• West Germany — advanced to Main Draw
• Yugoslavia — advanced to Main Draw

Main draw

Participating Teams

• Hungary
• Italy
• Spain
• Sweden
• West Germany
• Yugoslavia

Final

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 Nils 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

• Sweden advance to Inter-Zonal Zone

Zone B

Preliminary Rounds

Participating Teams

• Algeria
• Austria — advanced to Main Draw
• Czechoslovakia — advanced to Main Draw
• Finland
• Great Britain — advanced to Main Draw
• Greece
• Iran
• Israel
• Luxembourg
• Monaco
• Netherlands
• Poland — advanced to Main Draw

Main draw

Participating Teams

• Austria
• Czechoslovakia
• France
• Great Britain
• Poland
• Romania

Final

Great Britain 5	Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, England 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 Christopher 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 Christopher Mottram Jiří Hřebec 5 7 3 6 6 3 6 4 6 0

• Great Britain advance to Inter-Zonal Zone

Inter-Zonal Zone

Draw

	1st round 6–8 October					Final 8–10 December
	Gothenburg, Sweden (indoor carpet)
		Sweden	2
		United States	3			Rancho Mirage, California, United States (hard)
							United States	4
London, England (indoor carpet)						Great Britain	1
		Great Britain	3
		Australia	2

First round

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 Nils 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, Crystal Palace, London, England 6–8 October 1978 carpet (indoors)		Australia 2
1 2 3 4 5 1 Christopher 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 Christopher Mottram John Alexander 2 6 3 6 2 6

Final

United States 4	Mission Hills Country Club, Rancho Mirage, California, 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 Christopher 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 Christopher Mottram 6 2 6 2 6 1       5 Brian Gottfried John Lloyd 6 1 6 2 6 4