1978 Davis Cup Americas Zone

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
		bye				Nashville, TN, United States (indoor carpet)
							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 Ramiro Benavides 2 6 4 6 6 4 5 7     3  / Fernando Maynetto  / Ramiro Benavides 6 3 6 8 2 6 7 5 3 6   4 Mario Martínez 4 6 6 4 4 6 8 10     5 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 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 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  / 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
		Uruguay	0			Santiago, Chile (clay)
							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[]

External links[]

• Davis Cup official website