1973 Davis Cup

The 1973 Davis Cup was the 62nd edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. Fifty-three teams entered the competition, 31 in the Europe Zone, 12 in the Americas Zone, and 10 in the Eastern Zone.

1973 Davis Cup

Details
Duration	10 November 1972 – 2 December 1973
Edition	62nd
Teams	53
Champion
Winning nation	Australia
← 1972 1974 →

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. This year's competition also marked the first time that professional tennis players were allowed to compete.

The United States defeated Chile in the Americas Inter-Zonal final, Australia defeated India in the Eastern Zone final, and Czechoslovakia and Romania were the winners of the two Europe Zones, defeating the Soviet Union and Italy respectively.

In the Inter-Zonal Zone, Australia defeated Czechoslovakia and the United States defeated Romania in the semifinals. Australia then defeated the United States in the final, breaking the defending champions' five-year winning run. The final was held at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio, United States on 30 November-2 December. It marked the first time that the final was held indoors.

Americas Zone

Main article: 1973 Davis Cup Americas Zone

North & Central America Zone

Preliminary rounds

	First Round 23–25 February					Qualifying Round 9–11 March
	Bogotá, Colombia (clay)
	Colombia		4
						Bogotá, Colombia
	Canada		1
						Colombia		3
						Caribbean/West Indies		2
						Mexico City, Mexico (clay)
						Mexico		4
						Venezuela		1

Main Draw

	Semifinals 23–25 March					Final 11–13 May
						Mexico City, Mexico (clay)
						United States		4
	Mexico City, Mexico (clay)
						Mexico		1
	Mexico		5
	Colombia		0

South America Zone

Preliminary rounds

	First Round 23–25 February					Qualifying Round 2–4 March; 23–25 March
	Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay)
	Argentina		5
						Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay)
	Ecuador		0
						Argentina		4
						Brazil		1
						Punta del Este, Uruguay
						Uruguay		0
						South Africa		5

Main Draw

	Semifinals 13–15 April					Final 4–6 May
						Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay)
						Chile		3
	Montevideo, Uruguay (clay)
						Argentina		2
	Argentina		4
	South Africa		1

Americas Inter-Zonal Final

United States vs. Chile

United States 4	Burns Park Tennis Club, North Little Rock, Arkansas, United States 3–5 August 1973 Hard		Chile 0
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 6 2 8 6 6 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

The doubles match between Smith/van Dillen and Cornejo/Fillol set the Davis Cup record for the most games in a doubles rubber (122). The second set, which went to 37-39, set the record for the most games played in a set (76).

Eastern Zone

Main article: 1973 Davis Cup Eastern Zone

Preliminary round 23–28 March

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Tokyo, Japan

Australia

4

Seoul, South Korea

Japan

1

South Korea

1

Tokyo, Japan

Japan

4

Japan

3

Jakarta, Indonesia

Indonesia

0

Indonesia

5

Madras, India

Hong Kong

0

Australia

4

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

India

0

Malaysia

0

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (grass)

Pakistan

3

Pakistan

4

Penang, Malaysia (grass)

South Vietnam

1

South Vietnam

3

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (grass)

Sri Lanka

0

Pakistan

0

India

4

Final

India vs. Australia

India 0	Madras, India 4–6 May 1973		Australia 4
1 2 3 4 5 1 Anand Amritraj John Newcombe 2 6 1 6 0 6       2 Vijay Amritraj Mal 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

Europe Zone

Main article: 1973 Davis Cup Europe Zone

Zone A

Preliminary round

	Preliminary round 13–22 April
	Vienna, Austria
	Austria		3
	Monaco		0
	Dublin, Ireland (indoor hard)
	Ireland		0
	Norway		5
	Athens, Greece
	Greece		3
	Finland		2

Main Draw

First Round 3–6 May

Quarterfinals 18–20 May

Semifinals 20–22 July

Final 3–5 August

Romania

Scheveningen, Netherlands (clay)

bye

Romania

3

Tel Aviv, Israel (hard)

Netherlands

2

Israel

1

Bucharest, Romania (clay)

Netherlands

4

Romania

4

New Zealand

1

Yugoslavia

Zagreb, Yugoslavia (clay)

bye

Yugoslavia

2

Vienna, Austria (clay)

New Zealand

3

Austria

2

Bucharest, Romania

New Zealand

3

Romania

3

Oslo, Norway (clay)

Soviet Union

2

Norway

3

Oslo, Norway (clay)

Denmark

2

Norway

0

France

5

bye

Moscow, Soviet Union

France

France

2

Athens, Greece

Soviet Union

3

Greece

1

Budapest, Hungary

Hungary

4

Hungary

2

Soviet Union

3

bye

Soviet Union

Final

Romania vs. Soviet Union

Romania 3	Bucharest, Romania 3–5 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

Zone B

Preliminary round

Preliminary round 10–12 November 1972; 6–22 April

Semifinals

Final

Cairo, Egypt

Egypt

5

Turkey

0

Lisbon, Portugal (clay)

Portugal

0

Switzerland

5

Sofia, Bulgaria

Bulgaria

5

Iran

0

Casablanca, Morocco

Morocco

5

Luxembourg

0

Main Draw

First Round 27 April–6 May

Quarterfinals 18–20 May

Semifinals 20–22 July

Final 3–5 August

Czechoslovakia

Cairo, Egypt (clay)

bye

Czechoslovakia

4

Cairo, Egypt

Egypt

1

Egypt

4

Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)

Poland

1

Czechoslovakia

3

West Germany

2

Great Britain

Munich, West Germany (clay)

bye

Great Britain

1

Geneva, Switzerland

West Germany

4

Switzerland

0

Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)

West Germany

3

Czechoslovakia

4

Sofia, Bulgaria

Italy

1

Bulgaria

3

Reggio Emilia, Italy (clay)

Belgium

2

Bulgaria

0

Italy

5

bye

Turin, Italy

Italy

Italy

3

Rabat, Morocco (clay)

Spain

2

Morocco

1

Båstad, Sweden (clay)

Sweden

4

Sweden

2

Spain

3

bye

Spain

Final

Czechoslovakia vs. Italy

Czechoslovakia 4	Prague, Czechoslovakia 3–5 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 Pála 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

Inter-Zonal Zone

Draw

	Semifinals 17–19 August; 16–18 November					Final 30 November–2 December
	Melbourne, Australia
	EUR-B	Czechoslovakia	1
						Cleveland, Ohio, United States (indoor carpet)
	EAS	Australia	4
						EAS	Australia	5
	Alamo, California, United States (hard)
						AME	United States	0
	AME	United States	4
	EUR-A	Romania	1

Semifinals

Australia vs. Czechoslovakia

Australia 4	Kooyong Stadium, Melbourne, Australia 16–18 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 vs. Romania

United States 4	Round Hill Country Club, Alamo, California, United States 17–19 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 vs. Australia

United States 0	Public Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio, United States 30 November–2 December 1973 Carpet (indoors)		Australia 5
1 2 3 4 5 1 Stan Smith John Newcombe 1 6 6 3 3 6 6 3 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

• Davis Cup Official Website