1979 Davis Cup

1979 Davis Cup
Details
Duration	August 1978 – 16 December 1979
Edition	68th
Teams	49
Champion
Winning nation	United States
	← 1978 1980 →

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.

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Indies teams had all pulled out of the 1978 tournament, and in 1977 the United States, Great Britain and France had all withdrawn in protest to the continued politicisation of the Cup before eventually re-entering following concessions.^[2]^[3] South Africa would not be allowed to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

North & Central America Zone

Preliminary rounds


First Round		Qualifying Round



Mexico
		Mexico City, Mexico (clay)
bye
		Mexico	3

		Canada	2
bye

Canada



Colombia
		Bogotá, Colombia
bye
		Colombia	4
Nassau, Bahamas
		Venezuela	1
Caribbean/West Indies	2

Venezuela	3

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

South America Zone

Preliminary rounds


First Round		Qualifying Round



Argentina
		Guayaquil, Ecuador (indoor carpet)
bye
		Argentina	4
Guayaquil, Ecuador (indoor carpet)
		Ecuador	1
Ecuador	4

Peru	1

Cochabamba, Bolivia (clay)

Bolivia	0
		Itu, Brazil
Brazil	5
		Brazil	4

		Uruguay	0
bye

Uruguay

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

		1	2	3	4	5
1	Vitas Gerulaitis José Luis Clerc	6 1	7 5	6 1
2	John McEnroe Guillermo Vilas	6 2	6 3	6 2
3	Bob Lutz / Stan Smith José Luis Clerc / Guillermo Vilas	2 6	4 6	11 9	6 4	6 1
4	John McEnroe José Luis Clerc	6 2	6 3
5	Vitas Gerulaitis Guillermo Vilas	7 9	3 0				retired

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

		1	2	3	4
1	Onny Parun Mark Edmondson	3 6	6 3	6 3	6 2
2	Russell Simpson John Alexander	4 6	6 4	5 7	4 6
3	Onny Parun / Russell Simpson John Alexander / Phil Dent	4 6	7 9	3 6
4	Russell Simpson Mark Edmondson	3 6	2 6	4 6
5	Onny Parun John Alexander	7 5	6 3	6 3

Europe Zone

Zone A

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

		1	2	3
1	Adriano Panatta Buster Mottram	0 6	4 6	4 6
2	Corrado Barazzutti John Lloyd	6 1	6 4	6 4
3	Corrado Barazzutti / Antonio Zugarelli Mark Cox / David Lloyd	7 5	10 8	6 1
4	Adriano Panatta John Lloyd	6 3	6 2	6 3
5	Corrado Barazzutti Buster Mottram	8 6	7 5

Zone B

Pre-qualifying round


	Pre-qualifying round

	Ankara, Turkey

	Turkey		0

	Iran		5

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

		1	2	3	4	5
1	Tomáš Šmíd Kjell Johansson	6 4	6 3	6 2
2	Ivan Lendl Björn Borg	4 6	5 7	2 6
3	Jan Kodeš / Tomáš Šmíd Ove Bengtson / Björn Borg	2 6	6 3	6 4	6 0
4	Ivan Lendl Kjell Johansson	8 10	6 4	6 4	4 6	6 1
5	Tomáš Šmíd Per Hjertquist	3 5					retired

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

		1	2	3	4	5
1	Mark Edmondson Vitas Gerulaitis	8 6	16 14	8 10	3 6	3 6
2	John Alexander John McEnroe	7 9	2 6	7 9
3	John Alexander / Phil Dent Bob Lutz / Stan Smith	9 7	6 4	6 4
4	John Alexander Vitas Gerulaitis	7 5	4 6	6 8	2 6
5	Mark Edmondson John McEnroe	3 6	4 6

Italy vs. Czechoslovakia

Italy
4

Foro Italico, Rome, Italy^[11]
5–7 October 1979
Clay

Czechoslovakia
1

		1	2	3	4	5
1	Corrado Barazzutti Tomáš Šmíd	1 6	6 3	1 6	6 3	5 7
2	Adriano Panatta Ivan Lendl	6 4	1 6	6 0	6 0
3	Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta Jan Kodeš / Tomáš Šmíd	6 8	6 2	6 1	6 2
4	Corrado Barazzutti Ivan Lendl	4 6	6 1	6 2	3 6	7 5
5	Adriano Panatta Tomáš Šmíd	6 3	6 2

Final

United States vs. Italy

United States
5

Civic Auditorium, San Francisco, United States^[5]
14–16 December 1979
Carpet (indoors)

Italy
0

		1	2	3
1	Vitas Gerulaitis Corrado Barazzutti	6 2	3 2		retired
2	John McEnroe Adriano Panatta	6 2	6 3	6 4
3	Bob Lutz / Stan Smith Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta	6 4	12 10	6 2
4	John McEnroe Antonio Zugarelli	6 4	6 3	6 1
5	Vitas Gerulaitis Adriano Panatta	6 1	6 3	6 3

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.
^ ^a ^b "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.

External links

Davis Cup Official Website

[1] "South Africa Expelled from Cup Play". Toledo Blade. Associated Press. 17 April 1978. Retrieved 27 October 2019.

[2] "Canada heads pullout from 1978 Davis Cup". Montreal Gazette. Reuters. 4 July 1977. Retrieved 26 October 2019.

[3] "U.S. Withdraws from Davis Cup". Deseret News. Associated Press. 1 July 1976. Retrieved 27 October 2019.

[Collins-4] Bud Collins (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 495–496, 499. ISBN 978-0942257700.

[Final-5] "United States v Italy". daviscup.com.

[6] "United States v Argentina". daviscup.com.

[7] "New Zealand v Australia". daviscup.com.

[8] "Italy v Great Britain". daviscup.com.

[9] "Czechoslovakia v Sweden". daviscup.com.

[10] "Australia v United States". daviscup.com.

[11] "Italy v Czechoslovakia". daviscup.com.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[9]

[10]

[11]

v t e Davis Cup
Current champions (2023): Italy
Editions	1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020–21 2022 2023 2024 2025
World Groups / Finals	1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020–21 2022 2023 2024
World Groups play-offs	1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
Qualifying rounds	2019 2020–21 2022 2023 2024
2024 Davis Cup Finals teams	Argentina Australia Belgium Brazil Canada Chile Czech Republic Finland France Germany Great Britain Italy Netherlands Slovakia Spain United States
Former World Group / Finals teams	Austria Belarus Colombia Croatia Cuba Czechoslovakia Denmark Ecuador Hungary India Indonesia Ireland Israel Japan Kazakhstan Mexico Morocco New Zealand Paraguay Peru Poland Romania Russia Serbia South Korea South Africa Sweden Switzerland Yugoslavia Zimbabwe
Players	American Argentine Australian Austrian Belarusian Belgian Brazilian British Canadian Chilean Croatian Cuban Czech Czechoslovak Danish Dutch Ecuadorian Finnish French German Hungarian Indian Indonesian Irish Israeli Italian Japanese Kazakhstani Korean Kosovar Mexican Montenegrin Moroccan New Zealand Peruvian Polish Portuguese Romanian Russian Serbian Slovakian South African Soviet Spanish Swedish Swiss Yugoslavian Zimbabwean
List of champions Winning players

v t e 1979 Grand Prix Tour « 1978 1980 »
Grand Slam tournaments	Australian Open French Open Wimbledon US Open
Grand Prix circuit	Hobart Auckland Baltimore Birmingham ^(WCT) Philadelphia ^(WCT) Little Rock Richmond ^(WCT) Rancho Mirage Denver ^(WCT) Memphis Washington D.C. Nancy New Orleans Dayton Milan ^(WCT) Nice Rotterdam ^(WCT) Cairo Monte Carlo ^(WCT) Tulsa WCT Dallas Hamburg Rome Munich Brussels London Berlin Gstaad Båstad Stuttgart Hilversum Louisville North Conway South Orange Columbus Indianapolis Cleveland Toronto Stowe Boston Los Angeles Palermo San Francisco Bordeaux Barcelona Tel Aviv Brisbane Basel Sydney Indoor Vienna Cologne Tokyo Paris Indoor Hong Kong Quito Stockholm Wembley Taipei Bologna Bombay Buenos Aires Johannesburg Santiago Sydney Outdoor
Team events	Davis Cup Nations Cup