1978 Davis Cup Americas Zone

Main article: 1978 Davis Cup

The Americas Zone was one of the three regional zones of the 1978 Davis Cup.

10 teams entered the Americas Zone in total, with 3 teams entering the North & Central America Zone and 8 teams entering the South America Zone. The winner of each sub-zone advanced to the Americas Inter-Zonal Final, with the winner going on to compete in the Inter-Zonal Zone against the winners of the Eastern Zone and Europe Zone. ^[1]

The United States defeated South Africa in the North & Central America Zone final, and Chile defeated Argentina in the South America Zone final. ^{[2] [3]} In the Americas Inter-Zonal Final the United States defeated Chile and progressed to the Inter-Zonal Zone. ^[4]

The North & Central America Zone was marked by a number of incidents related to the continued presence of South Africa team. Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, and the Caribbean/West Indies teams all withdrew from the competition, and large scale protests accompanied the final between the United States and South Africa at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. ^{[5] [6]} 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. ^[7] However, Lamb did not play, and his inclusion in the squad was derided as tokenism. Crowds of up to 5000 turned out in protest. ^[8]

North & Central America Zone

Draw

	Semifinals 15–17 December 1977					Final 17–19 March
	United States
						Nashville, TN, United States (indoor carpet)
	bye
						United States		4
	Johannesburg, South Africa
						South Africa		1
	South Africa		4
	Colombia		1

Semifinals

South Africa vs. Colombia

South Africa 4	Johannesburg, South Africa [9] 15–17 December 1977		Colombia 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Byron Bertram Jairo Velasco 0 6 3 6 6 4 12 10 6 1   2 Ray Moore Iván Molina 5 7 2 6 6 4 2 6     3 Bob Hewitt  /  Frew McMillan Álvaro Betancur  /  Iván Molina 6 0 8 6 6 2       4 Byron Bertram Iván Molina 3 6 6 3 6 4 6 4     5 Ray Moore Álvaro Betancur 6 3 6 3 6 2

Final

United States vs. South Africa

United States 4	Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States [2] 17–19 March 1978 Carpet (indoors)		South Africa 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Vitas Gerulaitis Bernard Mitton 2 6 6 2 6 1 7 5     2 Harold Solomon Byron Bertram 4 6 6 0 6 3 6 1     3 Fred McNair  /  Sherwood Stewart Bob Hewitt  /  Frew McMillan 0 6 3 6 4 6       4 Harold Solomon Bernard Mitton 7 5 6 4 6 2       5 Vitas Gerulaitis Byron Bertram 6 3 6 3 6 0

South America Zone

Preliminary rounds

Draw

	First Round 1–6 November 1977					Qualifying Round 9–11 December 1977
	Chile
						Santiago, Chile
	bye
						Chile		5
	Lima, Peru
						Bolivia		0
	Peru		0
	Bolivia		5
	Montevideo, Uruguay (clay)
	Uruguay		3
						Montevideo, Uruguay
	Ecuador		2
						Uruguay		4
						Brazil		1
	bye
	Brazil

First round

Peru vs. Bolivia

Peru 0	Lima, Peru [10] 4–6 November 1977		Bolivia 5
1 2 3 4 5 1 Fernando Maynetto Mario Martínez 3 6 3 6 6 4 5 7     2 Miguel Maurtúa Ramiro Benavides 2 6 4 6 6 4 5 7     3 Miguel Maurtúa  /  Fernando Maynetto Juan Carlos Alvarado  /  Ramiro Benavides 6 3 6 8 2 6 7 5 3 6   4 Miguel Maurtúa Mario Martínez 4 6 6 4 4 6 8 10     5 Luis Alberto Olmedo Juan Carlos Alvarado 0 6 1 6 3 6

Uruguay vs. Ecuador

Uruguay 3	Montevideo, Uruguay [11] November 1977 Clay		Ecuador 2
1 2 3 4 5 1 Hugo Roverano Ricardo Pazmiño 6 2 6 2 6 1       2 José Luis Damiani Ricardo Ycaza 4 6 5 7 1 6       3 José Luis Damiani  /  Hugo Roverano Miguel Olvera  /  Ricardo Ycaza 6 3 6 2 6 2       4 José Luis Damiani Ricardo Pazmiño 6 1 6 0 6 2       5 Hugo Roverano Ricardo Ycaza 5 7 2 6 4 6

Qualifying round

Chile vs. Bolivia

Chile 5	Santiago, Chile [12] 9–11 December 1977		Bolivia 0
1 2 3 4 5 1 Belus Prajoux Mario Martínez 6 4 6 1 6 3       2 Hans Gildemeister Ramiro Benavides 6 2 6 2 6 1       3 Patricio Cornejo  /  Jaime Fillol Juan Carlos Alvarado  /  Ramiro Benavides 3 6 6 2 6 0 8 6     4 Hans Gildemeister Mario Martínez 6 3 6 1 6 3       5 Belus Prajoux Ramiro Benavides 6 1 6 1 6 1

Uruguay vs. Brazil

Uruguay 4	Montevideo, Uruguay [13] 9–11 December 1977		Brazil 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 José Luis Damiani Thomaz Koch 7 5 6 4 6 0       2 Hugo Roverano Carlos Kirmayr 0 6 6 2 6 3 4 6 7 5   3 José Luis Damiani  /  Hugo Roverano Carlos Kirmayr  /  Thomaz Koch 9 7 6 3 6 2       4 José Luis Damiani Marcos Hocevar 6 3 6 4 6 4       5 Hugo Roverano Fernando Gentil 1 6 3 6 7 5 5 7

Main draw

Draw

	Semifinals 18–20 December 1977					Final 17–19 March
	Santiago, Chile
	Chile		5
						Santiago, Chile (clay)
	Uruguay		0
						Chile		3
						Argentina		2
	bye
	Argentina

Semifinals

Chile vs. Uruguay

Chile 5	Santiago, Chile [14] 18–20 December 1977		Uruguay 0
1 2 3 4 5 1 Jaime Fillol Hugo Roverano 9 7 6 3 6 0       2 Hans Gildemeister José Luis Damiani 6 2 6 2 6 2       3 Patricio Cornejo  /  Belus Prajoux José Luis Damiani  /  Hugo Roverano 6 4 6 4 6 2       4 Jaime Fillol José Luis Damiani 8 6 6 0 6 2       5 Hans Gildemeister Hugo Roverano 6 1 6 4 6 2

Final

Chile vs. Argentina

Chile 3	Santiago, Chile [3] 17–19 March 1978 Clay		Argentina 2
1 2 3 4 5 1 Hans Gildemeister Guillermo Vilas 9 7 6 3 3 6 6 4     2 Jaime Fillol Ricardo Cano 6 2 6 3 6 3       3 Patricio Cornejo  /  Jaime Fillol José Luis Clerc  /  Guillermo Vilas 4 6 3 6 3 6       4 Hans Gildemeister Ricardo Cano 6 4 7 5 6 4       5 Jaime Fillol Guillermo Vilas 3 6 4 6 0 6

Americas Inter-Zonal Final

Chile vs. United States

Chile 2	Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile [4] 15–17 September 1978 Clay [15]		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

References

1. Bud Collins (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 495–506. ISBN   978-0942257700.
2. "United States v South Africa". daviscup.com.
3. "Chile v Argentina". daviscup.com.
4. "Chile v United States". daviscup.com.
5. "Canada heads pullout from 1978 Davis Cup". Montreal Gazette . Reuters. 4 July 1977. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
6. "African Activist Archive". Africanactivist.msu.edu. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
7. Jerome, Jim. "Apartheid Critics Say He's Merely a Token, but Peter Lamb's Davis Cup Runneth Over". People.com. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
8. "African Activist Archive". Africanactivist.msu.edu. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
9. "South Africa v Colombia". daviscup.com.
10. "Peru v Bolivia". daviscup.com.
11. "Uruguay v Ecuador". daviscup.com.
12. "Chile v Bolivia". daviscup.com.
13. "Uruguay v Brazil". daviscup.com.
14. "Chile v Uruguay". daviscup.com.
15. "Jaime Fillol vs Brian Gottfried". atptour.com.

External links

• Davis Cup official website