1977 Davis Cup

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.

1977 Davis Cup

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

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.[1][2]

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 repeated refusal to play against 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's victory by default at the 1974 tournament when India refused to travel to South Africa for the final.[3][4][5]

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 entirely 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 intentions to withdraw.[6] In response, the Davis Cup committee made a greater commitment to keep politics out of the competition and disqualified the Soviet Union, which had refused to play against Chile in the 1976 Inter-Zonal semifinals and had already been barred from competing in the Federation Cup for refusing to play against South Africa and Rhodesia, from the tournament. 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.[7] The United States, Great Britain and France all eventually returned and competed in the 1977 tournament.

Americas Zone

Main article: 1977 Davis Cup Americas Zone

Preliminary Rounds

	First Round 8 October–1 November 1976					Qualifying Round 3–14 November 1976
		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

bye

Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay)

Chile

1

São Paulo, Brazil (clay)

Argentina

4

Brazil

2

Argentina

3

Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay)

Argentina

3

Tucson, AZ, United States (hard)

United States

2

United States

4

Mexico

1

Newport Beach, CA, United States (hard)

United States

4

South Africa

1

bye

South Africa

Final

Argentina vs. United States

Argentina 3	Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina [8] 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

Main article: 1977 Davis Cup Eastern Zone

Preliminary Rounds

	First Round 1–17 October 1976					Qualifying Round 12–14 November 1976
	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

bye

Auckland, New Zealand (grass)

New Zealand

5

Jakarta, Indonesia

Indonesia

0

Indonesia

5

Thailand

0

Auckland, New Zealand (grass)

New Zealand

0

New Delhi, India

Australia

4

Japan

2

India

3

Perth, Australia (grass)

India

0

Australia

5

bye

Australia

Final

New Zealand vs. Australia

New Zealand 0	Stanley Street, Auckland, New Zealand [9] 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

Main article: 1977 Davis Cup Europe Zone

Zone A

Pre-Qualifying Rounds

	First Round					Qualifying Round 25–27 August 1976
		Iran
		bye				Tehran, Iran (clay)
							Iran	5
							Algeria	0
		Algeria	w/o
		Morocco

Preliminary Rounds

	First Round 17–26 September 1976					Qualifying Round 19–21 March; 22 April–1 May
	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

France

5

Paris, France (clay)

France

3

Bucharest, Romania (clay)

Romania

2

Romania

3

Czechoslovakia

1

Bucharest, Romania (clay)

Romania

4

Great Britain

1

bye

Great Britain

Final

France vs. Romania

France 3	Stade Roland Garros, Paris, France [10] 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 28 August–19 September 1976
		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 24–26 September 1976					Qualifying Round 1–24 April
	Scheveningen, Netherlands (clay)
		Netherlands	5
						Scheveningen, Netherlands (clay)
		Israel	0
							Netherlands	0
							Yugoslavia	5
		bye
		Yugoslavia
	Athens, Greece (clay)
		Greece	3
						Athens, Greece
		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

bye

Budapest, Hungary

Hungary

2

Belgrade, Yugoslavia

Spain

3

Yugoslavia

1

Spain

4

Barcelona, Spain

Spain

2

Stockholm, Sweden (indoor carpet)

Italy

3

Sweden

5

Austria

0

Båstad, Sweden (clay)

Sweden

1

Italy

4

bye

Italy

Final

Spain vs. Italy

Spain 2	Barcelona, Spain [11] 29 July–1 August 1977		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
	EAS	Australia	3			Sydney, Australia (grass)
						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 [12] 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 [13] 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] 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 York]: 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. "Argentina v Australia". daviscup.com.
13. "Italy v France". daviscup.com.

External links

• Davis Cup Official Website