1975 Davis Cup

Details
Duration	23 August 1974 – 21 December 1975
Edition	64th
Teams	53
Champion
Winning Nation	Sweden
← 1974 1976 →

The 1975 Davis Cup was the 64th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 55 teams would enter the competition, 32 in the Europe Zone, 12 in the Americas Zone, and 11 in the Eastern Zone. Kenya made its first appearance in the tournament.

Chile defeated South Africa in the Americas Inter-Zonal final, Australia defeated New Zealand in the Eastern Zone final, and Sweden and Czechoslovakia were the winners of the two Europe Zones, defeating Spain and France respectively.

In the Inter-Zonal Zone, Czechoslovakia defeated Australia and Sweden defeated Chile in the semifinals. Sweden then defeated Czechoslovakia in the final to win their first title and become the sixth nation to win the Davis Cup. The final was held at the Kungliga tennishallen in Stockholm, Sweden on 19–21 December.^[1][2][3]

Americas Zone

North & Central America Zone

Preliminary rounds

	First Round					Qualifying Round
	Nassau, Bahamas (clay)
	Caribbean/West Indies		0
						Palm Springs, CA, United States (hard)
	United States		5
						United States		2
	Quebec City, Canada (indoor carpet)
						Mexico		3
	Canada		1
	Mexico		4

Main Draw

	Semifinals					Final
	Colombia
	bye
						Colombia
						South Africa		w/o
	South Africa		w/o
	Mexico

South America Zone

Preliminary rounds

	First Round					Qualifying Round
	Uruguay		w/o
						Montevideo, Uruguay
	Ecuador
						Uruguay		0
						Argentina		5
	Argentina
	bye
	bye
						São Paulo, Brazil
	Brazil
						Brazil		4
						Bolivia		0
	bye
	Bolivia

Main Draw

	Semifinals 20–22 December 1974					Final 10–12 January
	Chile
						Santiago, Chile
	bye
						Chile		4
	São Paulo, Brazil (clay)
						Brazil		1
	Brazil		3
	Argentina		2

Americas Inter-Zonal Final

Chile vs. South Africa

Chile 5	Santiago, Chile[4] 18–20 July 1975		South Africa 0
1 2 3 4 5 1 Patricio Cornejo Bernard Mitton 4 6 6 4 6 2 7 5     2 Jaime Fillol Ray Moore 6 3 6 3 0 6 3 6 6 3   3 Patricio Cornejo / Jaime Fillol Frew McMillan / Ray Moore 7 5 6 2 6 4       4 Jaime Fillol Bernard Mitton 2 6 6 2 3 6 6 1 7 5   5 Patricio Cornejo Ray Moore 6 3 6 4 4 6 6 3

Eastern Zone

Pre-qualifying round

Preliminary round

Quarterfinals

Semifinals

Final

Lucknow, India

Auckland, New Zealand (grass)

India

1

Saigon, South Vietnam

New Zealand

5

New Zealand

3

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

South Vietnam

3

South Vietnam

0

Auckland, New Zealand (grass)

Malaysia

0

South Korea

2

New Zealand

0

South Vietnam

5

Australia

4

Jakarta, Indonesia

Adelaide, Australia (grass)

Indonesia

0

Tokyo, Japan

Japan

1

Japan

5

Japan

5

Australia

4

Colombo, Sri Lanka (clay)

Philippines

0

Manila, Philippines

Sri Lanka

1

Philippines

3

Philippines

3

Pakistan

2

Final

New Zealand vs. Australia

New Zealand 0	Stanley Street, Auckland, New Zealand[5] 28 February–2 March 1975 Grass		Australia 4
1 2 3 4 5 1 Brian Fairlie John Newcombe 5 7 3 6 5 7       2 Onny Parun Ken Rosewall 2 6 4 6 2 6       3 Brian Fairlie / Onny Parun Geoff Masters / John Newcombe 4 6 4 6 5 7       4 Brian Fairlie Ken Rosewall 1 6 11 9 5 7 7 9     5 Onny Parun Geoff Masters 6 3 10 8       not completed

Europe Zone

Zone A

Pre-qualifying round

	Pre-qualifying round 23–25 August 1974
	Tehran, Iran
	Iran	5
	Lebanon	0
	Tel Aviv, Israel (hard)
	Israel	5
	Luxembourg	0

Preliminary rounds

	First Round					Qualifying Round
	Spain
						Murcia, Spain (clay)
	bye
						Spain		5
	Copenhagen, Denmark (indoor carpet)
						Denmark		0
	Denmark		4
	Greece		1
	Austria
						Vienna, Austria (clay)
	bye
						Austria		0
	London, United Kingdom (indoor carpet)
						Great Britain		4
	Great Britain		5
	Iran		0
	Poznań, Poland (clay)
	Poland		5
						Warsaw, Poland (clay)
	Portugal		0
						Poland		1
						Sweden		4
	bye
	Sweden
	Tel Aviv, Israel (hard)
	Israel		0
						Freiburg, West Germany
	Switzerland		5
						Switzerland		0
						West Germany		5
	bye
	West Germany

Main Draw

Quarterfinals 9–18 May

Semifinals 18–20 July

Final 25–27 July

Romania

Barcelona, Spain (clay)

bye

Romania

2

Barcelona, Spain (clay)

Spain

3

Spain

3

Barcelona, Spain (clay)

Great Britain

2

Spain

2

West Berlin (clay)

Sweden

3

West Germany

2

Jūrmala, Soviet Union (clay)

Sweden

3

Sweden

3

Soviet Union

2

bye

Soviet Union

Final

Spain vs. Sweden

Spain 2	Real Club de Tenis Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain[6] 25–27 July 1975 Clay		Sweden 3
1 2 3 4 5 1 Manuel Orantes Birger Andersson 6 1 6 3 6 4       2 José Higueras Björn Borg 3 6 1 6 1 6       3 Juan Gisbert / Manuel Orantes Ove Bengtson / Björn Borg 6 4 6 3 6 1       4 Manuel Orantes Björn Borg 4 6 2 6 2 6       5 José Higueras Birger Andersson 6 3 4 6 3 6 0 6

Zone B

Pre-qualifying round

	Pre-qualifying round 23 August–14 September 1974
	Lagos, Nigeria (hard)
	Nigeria	5
	Kenya	0
	Istanbul, Turkey
	Turkey	3
	Ireland	2

Preliminary rounds

	First Round					Qualifying Round
	Netherlands
						Budapest, Hungary
	bye
						Netherlands		0
	Helsinki, Finland
						Hungary		5
	Finland		1
	Hungary		4
	Egypt
						Monte Carlo, Monaco
	bye
						Egypt		3
	Monte Carlo, Monaco
						Monaco		1
	Monaco		4
	Nigeria		1
	Brussels, Belgium (indoor hard)
	Belgium		5
						Paris, France (clay)
	Norway		0
						Belgium		4
						France		1
	bye
	France
	Sofia, Bulgaria
	Bulgaria		5
						Zagreb, Yugoslavia
	Turkey		0
						Bulgaria		1
						Yugoslavia		4
	bye
	Yugoslavia

Main Draw

Quarterfinals 16–25 May

Semifinals 20–22 June; 18–20 July

Final 25–27 July

Czechoslovakia

Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)

bye

Czechoslovakia

4

Cairo, Egypt

Hungary

1

Egypt

2

Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)

Hungary

3

Czechoslovakia

3

Paris, France (clay)

France

2

France

3

Paris, France (clay)

Yugoslavia

0

France

3

Italy

2

bye

Italy

Final

Czechoslovakia vs. France

Czechoslovakia 3	Prague, Czechoslovakia[7] 25–27 July 1975 Clay		France 2
1 2 3 4 5 1 Jan Kodeš Patrice Dominguez 6 1 6 4 1 6 6 0     2 Jiří Hřebec François Jauffret 6 4 4 6 6 3 2 6 6 0   3 Jiří Hřebec / Jan Kodeš Patrice Dominguez / Patrick Proisy 3 6 6 3 4 6 6 1 3 6   4 Jiří Hřebec Patrice Dominguez 6 4 3 6 4 6 4 6     5 Jan Kodeš François Jauffret 6 1 7 5 6 1

Inter-Zonal Zone

Draw

	Semifinals 19–28 September					Final 19–21 December
	Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)
	EUR-B	Czechoslovakia	3
						Stockholm, Sweden (indoor carpet)
	EAS	Australia	1
						EUR-B	Czechoslovakia	2
	Båstad, Sweden (clay)
						EUR-A	Sweden	3
	AME	Chile	1
	EUR-A	Sweden	4

Semifinals

Sweden vs. Chile

Sweden 4	Båstad Tennis Stadium, Båstad, Sweden[8] 19–21 September 1975 Clay		Chile 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Björn Borg Patricio Cornejo 3 6 6 4 7 5 6 3     2 Birger Andersson Jaime Fillol 3 6 2 6 3 6       3 Ove Bengtson / Björn Borg Patricio Cornejo / Jaime Fillol 7 5 6 2 3 6 6 3     4 Birger Andersson Patricio Cornejo 6 3 14 12 6 1       5 Björn Borg Jaime Fillol 6 1 6 2 6 1

Czechoslovakia vs. Australia

Czechoslovakia 3	Štvanice Stadium, Prague, Czechoslovakia[9] 26–28 September 1975 Clay		Australia 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Jan Kodeš John Alexander 6 4 2 6 7 5 6 4     2 Jiří Hřebec Tony Roche 3 6 4 6 6 1 6 3 6 3   3 František Pála / Vladimír Zedník John Alexander / Phil Dent 3 6 6 3 2 6 3 6     4 Jan Kodeš Tony Roche 6 3 6 1 6 4       5 Jiří Hřebec John Alexander 6 8 3 6 6 1 6 6   not completed

Final

Sweden vs. Czechoslovakia

Sweden 3	Kungliga tennishallen, Stockholm, Sweden[3] 19–21 December 1975 Carpet (indoors)		Czechoslovakia 2
1 2 3 4 5 1 Björn Borg Jiří Hřebec 6 1 6 3 6 0       2 Ove Bengtson Jan Kodeš 6 4 2 6 5 7 4 6     3 Ove Bengtson / Björn Borg Jan Kodeš / Vladimír Zedník 6 4 6 4 6 4       4 Björn Borg Jan Kodeš 6 4 6 2 6 2       5 Ove Bengtson Jiří Hřebec 6 2 3 6 1 6 4 6

Controversy

The Inter-Zonal Zone semifinal between Sweden and Chile was played on 19–21 September in Båstad, Sweden, two years after Augusto Pinochet's military coup in Chile. Many people in Sweden wanted the match to be cancelled, in protest of the junta's violations of human rights, however others wanted sport and politics to remain separated.

Chilekommittén mobilised protests against the match. The call for the manifestation was issued on July 30, 1975. The slogan of the protests was Stoppa matchen! ('Stop the match'). About 7,000 people took part in the protest. Hundreds of balloons, with names of political prisoners were released in the vicinity of the match venue, guarded by a police force of 1,300. Through Chilean sports commentators on site, news about the protests reached Chile. A special issue of Chilebulletinen was produced for the protests, with 20,000 copies.

The then governing Swedish Social Democratic Party didn't take part in the protests on September 20. A protest march was instead organized in Båstad by the Swedish Social Democratic Youth League on September 18, ending at the town square, where former prime minister Tage Erlander and Sweden's former ambassador to Chile Harald Edelstam (who personally helped rescue over 1,200 political prisoners in Chile after the 1973 coup) addressed a crowd of some 3,000.

Olof Palme's government tried to stop the match, but on September 12 negotiations ended with a decision to play. During the game on September 20, which was guarded by 1,300 police, over 7,000 demonstrators gathered peacefully on the square.^[10] The match was played behind closed doors with no spectators present.^[11]