# 1979 Davis Cup

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/1979_Davis_Cup
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/1979_Davis_Cup.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Davis_Cup
> Source revision: 1354241782
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

1979 edition of the 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](/source/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](/source/South_Africa_Davis_Cup_team) were expelled from the Davis Cup for failing to abandon its [apartheid policies](/source/Apartheid). For many years the Davis Cup organisers had been reluctant to let political issues affect the competition, however following several years of [defaults](/source/Walkover) 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](/source/Canada_Davis_Cup_team), [Mexico](/source/Mexico_Davis_Cup_team), [Venezuela](/source/Venezuela_Davis_Cup_team) and the [Caribbean/West Indies](/source/Caribbean%2FWest_Indies_Davis_Cup_team) teams had all pulled out of the 1978 tournament, and in 1977 the United States, Great Britain and [France](/source/France_Davis_Cup_team) had all withdrawn in protest to the continued politicisation of the Cup before eventually re-entering following concessions.[2][3] South Africa would not be allowed to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](/source/1992_Davis_Cup), when significant progress had been made to bring about [the end of apartheid](/source/Negotiations_to_end_apartheid_in_South_Africa).

The [United States](/source/United_States_Davis_Cup_team) defeated [Argentina](/source/Argentina_Davis_Cup_team) in the Americas Inter-Zonal final, [Australia](/source/Australia_Davis_Cup_team) defeated [New Zealand](/source/New_Zealand_Davis_Cup_team) in the Eastern Zone final, and [Italy](/source/Italy_Davis_Cup_team) and [Czechoslovakia](/source/Czechoslovakia_Davis_Cup_team) were the winners of the two Europe Zones, defeating [Great Britain](/source/Great_Britain_Davis_Cup_team) and [Sweden](/source/Sweden_Davis_Cup_team) 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](/source/Bill_Graham_Civic_Auditorium) in [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco), United States on 14–16 December.[4][5]

## Americas Zone

Main article: [1979 Davis Cup Americas Zone](/source/1979_Davis_Cup_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

Main article: [1979 Davis Cup Eastern Zone](/source/1979_Davis_Cup_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 5 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

Main article: [1979 Davis Cup Europe Zone](/source/1979_Davis_Cup_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 4 5 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 4 5 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

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["South Africa Expelled from Cup Play"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1350&dat=19780417&id=FQ9PAAAAIBAJ&sjid=bgIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4837,4807800). *[Toledo Blade](/source/The_Blade_(Toledo%2C_Ohio))*. [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press). April 17, 1978. Retrieved October 27, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Canada heads pullout from 1978 Davis Cup"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=bJcuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=iaEFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6518,604605&dq=davis+cup+canada+1978). *[Montreal Gazette](/source/Montreal_Gazette)*. Reuters. July 4, 1977. Retrieved October 26, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["U.S. Withdraws from Davis Cup"](https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=edk0AAAAIBAJ&sjid=Kn4DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6973,226181&dq=us+withdraws+from+davis+cup&hl=en). *[Deseret News](/source/Deseret_News)*. [Associated Press](/source/Associated_Press). July 1, 1976. Retrieved October 27, 2019.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-Collins_4-0)** Bud Collins (2010). *The Bud Collins History of Tennis* (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 495–496, 499. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0942257700](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0942257700).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Final_5-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Final_5-1) ["United States v Italy"](https://www.daviscup.com/en/draws-results/tie.aspx?id=M-DC-1979-WG-M-USA-ITA-01). daviscup.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** ["United States v Argentina"](https://www.daviscup.com/en/draws-results/tie.aspx?id=M-DC-1979-AMI-M-USA-ARG-01). daviscup.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** ["New Zealand v Australia"](https://www.daviscup.com/en/draws-results/tie.aspx?id=M-DC-1979-EAS-M-NZL-AUS-01). daviscup.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** ["Italy v Great Britain"](https://www.daviscup.com/en/draws-results/tie.aspx?id=M-DC-1979-EUR-A-M-ITA-GBR-01). daviscup.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** ["Czechoslovakia v Sweden"](https://www.daviscup.com/en/draws-results/tie.aspx?id=M-DC-1979-EUR-B-M-TCH-SWE-01). daviscup.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** ["Australia v United States"](https://www.daviscup.com/en/draws-results/tie.aspx?id=M-DC-1979-INZ-M-AUS-USA-01). daviscup.com.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** ["Italy v Czechoslovakia"](https://www.daviscup.com/en/draws-results/tie.aspx?id=M-DC-1979-INZ-M-ITA-TCH-01). daviscup.com.

v t e Davis Cup Current champions (2025): 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 2026 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 2025 2026 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 2020 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 Qualifying rounds 2019 2020–21 2022 2023 2024 2025 (1R, 2R) 2026 (1R, 2R) 2025 Davis Cup Finals teams Argentina Austria Belgium Czech Republic France Germany Italy Spain Former World Group / Finals teams Australia Belarus Brazil Canada Chile Colombia Croatia Cuba Czechoslovakia Denmark Ecuador Finland Great Britain Hungary India Indonesia Ireland Israel Japan Kazakhstan Mexico Morocco Netherlands New Zealand Paraguay Peru Poland Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia South Korea South Africa Sweden Switzerland United States 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 Slovak South African Soviet Spanish Swedish Swiss Yugoslav Zimbabwean List of champions Winning players

v t e « 1978 1979 in tennis 1980 » Grand Slam French Open Wimbledon Championships US Open Australian Open Tours Men Colgate-Palmolive Grand Prix Colgate-Palmolive Masters Women WTA Tour Avon Championships Colgate Series Championships National teams Men Davis Cup World Team Cup Women Federation Cup Wightman Cup

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 San José 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 Tokyo Outdoor Vienna Cologne Tokyo Indoor Paris Indoor Hong Kong Quito Stockholm Bogotá Wembley Taipei Bologna Bombay Buenos Aires Johannesburg Santiago Sydney Outdoor Team events Davis Cup Nations Cup

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [1979 Davis Cup](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Davis_Cup) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1979_Davis_Cup?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.