1973 Davis Cup

The 1973 Davis Cup was the 62nd edition of the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 53 teams would enter the competition, 31 in the Europe Zone, 12 in the Americas Zone, and 10 in the Eastern Zone. For the first time, preliminary rounds were used in every zone, effectively giving byes through the first two rounds of competition to the previous year's finalists from the American and Eastern zones, and to the previous year's semifinalists from the European zones.

The United States defeated Chile in the Americas Zone final, Australia defeated India in the Eastern Zone final, and Romania and Czechoslovakia won the Europe Zones. In the Inter-Zonal Zone, the USA defeated Romania and Australia defeated Czechoslovakia. Australia defeated the USA in the final, which was held at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, OH, United States, on 30 November-2 December. It marked the first time the final was held indoors.

Americas Zone

Main article: 1973 Davis Cup Americas Zone

North & Central America Zone

Preliminary Rounds

Participating Teams

• Canada
• Caribbean/West Indies
• Colombia — advanced to Main Draw
• Mexico — advanced to Main Draw
• Venezuela

Main draw

Participating Teams

• Colombia
• Mexico
• United States — advanced to Americas Inter-Zonal Final

South America Zone

Preliminary Rounds

Participating Teams

• Argentina — advanced to Main Draw
• Brazil
• Ecuador
• South Africa — advanced to Main Draw
• Uruguay

Main draw

Participating Teams

• Argentina
• Chile — advanced to Americas Inter-Zonal Final
• South Africa

Americas Inter-Zonal Final

United States 3	Burns Park Tennis Club, North Little Rock, AR, United States 3 August - 5 August 1973 hard		Chile 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Tom Gorman Jaime Fillol 17 15 6 4 4 6 6 3     2 Stan Smith Patricio Cornejo 7 9 2 2 8 6 4 4     3 Stan Smith / Erik van Dillen Patricio Cornejo / Jaime Fillol 7 9 37 39 8 6 6 1 6 3   4 Tom Gorman Patricio Cornejo 6 3 6 1 6 1       5 Stan Smith Jaime Fillol           not played

• United States advance to Inter-Zonal Zone

Note:The 39-37 set in the doubles rubber set the Davis Cup record for most games in a set (76). [1]

Eastern Zone

Main article: 1973 Davis Cup Eastern Zone

Preliminary Rounds

Participating Teams

• Hong Kong
• Indonesia — advanced to Main Draw
• Japan — advanced to Main Draw
• Malaysia
• Pakistan — advanced to Main Draw
• South Korea
• South Vietnam — advanced to Main Draw
• Sri Lanka

Main draw

Participating Teams

• Australia
• India
• Indonesia
• Japan
• Pakistan
• South Vietnam

Final

India 0	Madras, India 4 May - 6 May 1973		Australia 4
1 2 3 4 5 1 Anand Amritraj John Newcombe 2 6 1 6 0 6       2 Vijay Amritraj Malcolm Anderson 1 6 2 6 1 6       3 Vijay Amritraj / Premjit Lall Geoff Masters / John Newcombe 6 4 2 6 5 7 3 6     4 Premjit Lall John Cooper 6 4 0 6 6 8 1 6     5 Vijay Amritraj John Newcombe 10 12 6 3       not completed

• Australia advance to Inter-Zonal Zone

Europe Zone

Main article: 1973 Davis Cup Europe Zone

Zone A

Preliminary Rounds

Participating Teams

• Bulgaria — advanced to Main Draw
• Egypt — advanced to Main Draw
• Iran
• Luxembourg
• Morocco — advanced to Main Draw
• Portugal
• Switzerland — advanced to Main Draw
• Turkey

Main draw

Participating Teams

• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Czechoslovakia
• Egypt
• Great Britain
• Italy
• Morocco
• Poland
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• West Germany

Final

Czechoslovakia 4	Prague, Czechoslovakia 3 August - 5 August 1973 clay		Italy 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Jan Kodeš Corrado Barazzutti 5 7 6 3 4 6 6 2 1 6   2 Jiří Hřebec Antonio Zugarelli 12 10 6 1 6 1       3 Jan Kodeš / František Pala Giordano Majoli / Pietro Marzano 6 2 8 6 6 4       4 Jiří Hřebec Corrado Barazzutti 9 7 6 1 6 4       5 Jan Kodeš Antonio Zugarelli 6 1 6 3 0 6 6 2

• Czechoslovakia advance to Inter-Zonal Zone

Zone B

Preliminary Rounds

Participating Teams

• Austria — advanced to Main Draw
• Finland
• Greece — advanced to Main Draw
• Ireland
• Monaco
• Norway — advanced to Main Draw

Main draw

Participating Teams

• Austria
• Denmark
• France
• Greece
• Hungary
• Israel
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Romania
• Soviet Union
• Yugoslavia

Final

Romania 3	Bucharest, Romania 3 August - 5 August 1973 clay		Soviet Union 2
1 2 3 4 5 1 Toma Ovici Alex Metreveli 5 7 5 7 2 6       2 Ilie Năstase Teimuraz Kakulia 6 0 6 3 6 0       3 Ilie Năstase / Ionel Sânteiu Sergei Likhachev / Alex Metreveli 0 6 6 3 4 6 7 5 2 6   4 Ilie Năstase Alex Metreveli 6 0 6 2 6 4       5 Toma Ovici Teimuraz Kakulia 6 3 6 3 6 1

• Romania advance to Inter-Zonal Zone

Inter-Zonal Zone

Draw

	1st round August-November					Final 30 November-2 December
	Melbourne, Australia
	EAS	Australia	4
	EUR-A	Czechoslovakia	1			Cleveland, OH, United States (indoor carpet)
						EAS	Australia	5
Alamo, CA, United States (hard)					AME	United States	0
	EUR-B	Romania	1
	AME	United States	4

First round

Australia 4	Kooyong Stadium, Melbourne, Australia 16 November - 18 November 1973 grass		Czechoslovakia 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Rod Laver Jan Kodeš 6 3 7 5 7 5       2 John Newcombe Jiří Hřebec 4 6 10 8 4 6 5 7     3 Rod Laver / Ken Rosewall Jan Kodeš / Vladimír Zedník 6 4 14 12 7 9 8 6     4 Rod Laver Jiří Hřebec 5 7 6 3 6 4 4 6 6 4   5 John Newcombe Jan Kodeš 6 2 6 2 6 4

United States 4	Round Hill Country Club, Alamo, CA, United States 17 August - 19 August 1973 hard		Romania 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Marty Riessen Ilie Năstase 2 6 4 6 2 6       2 Stan Smith Toma Ovici 7 5 6 1 6 3       3 Stan Smith / Erik van Dillen Ilie Năstase / Ionel Sânteiu 6 2 7 5 6 2       4 Marty Riessen Toma Ovici 6 1 4 6 6 1 7 5     5 Stan Smith Ilie Năstase 5 7 6 2 6 3 4 6 6 3

Final

United States 0	Public Auditorium, Cleveland, OH, United States 30 November - 2 December 1973 carpet (indoors)		Australia 5
1 2 3 4 5 1 Stan Smith John Newcombe 1 6 6 4 3 6 6 4 4 6   2 Tom Gorman Rod Laver 10 8 6 8 8 6 3 6 1 6   3 Stan Smith / Erik van Dillen Rod Laver / John Newcombe 1 6 2 6 4 6       4 Tom Gorman John Newcombe 2 6 1 6 3 6       5 Stan Smith Rod Laver 3 6 4 6 6 3 2 6

External links

• Official Site