1978 Davis Cup - Wikipedia

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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.^[1][2]

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.

Chile vs. United States

Chile 2	Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile[7] 15–17 September 1978 Clay[8]	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

Australia vs. New Zealand

Australia 4	Memorial Drive, Adelaide, Australia[9] 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

Great Britain vs. Czechoslovakia

Great Britain 5	Devonshire Park, Eastbourne, United Kingdom[10] 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

Sweden vs. Hungary

Sweden 3	Båstad Tennis Stadium, Båstad, Sweden[11] 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

Sweden vs. United States

Sweden 2	Scandinavium, Gothenburg, Sweden[12] 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[13] 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

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
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

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