The 1974 Davis Cup was the 63rd edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 57 teams would enter the competition, 33 in the Europe Zone, 12 in the Americas Zone, and 12 in the Eastern Zone. Nigeria made its first appearance in the tournament.[citation needed]

1974 Davis Cup
Details
Duration5 October 1973 – 1 December 1974
Edition63rd
Teams55
Champion
Winning nation South Africa
1973
1975

South Africa defeated Colombia in the Americas Inter-Zonal final, India defeated Australia in the Eastern Zone final, and Italy and the Soviet Union were the winners of the two Europe Zones, defeating Romania and Czechoslovakia respectively. In the Inter-Zonal Zone, South Africa defeated Italy and India defeated the Soviet Union in the semifinals.

India refused to travel to South Africa for the final due to their government's opposition to South Africa's apartheid policies: therefore, the final was scratched and South Africa were awarded the Davis Cup.[1][2] South Africa became only the fifth nation to win the Davis Cup, breaking the dominance of the United States, Great Britain, France and Australia teams which had won every tournament before this year.[3]

Americas Zone

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North & Central America Zone

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Preliminary rounds

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First RoundQualifying Round
Kingston, Jamaica (indoor hard)
  Canada3
Mexico City, Mexico (clay)
  Caribbean/West Indies2
  Canada1
  Mexico4
  Mexico
bye
bye
Bogotá, Colombia
  Colombia
  Colombia3
  Venezuela2
bye
  Venezuela

Main Draw

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Semifinals
7–9 December
Final
11–13 January
  United States
Bogotá, Colombia
bye
  United States1
Cali, Colombia
  Colombia4
  Mexico1
  Colombia4

South America Zone

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Preliminary rounds

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First RoundQualifying Round
Guayaquil, Ecuador (clay)
  Ecuador5
Guayaquil, Ecuador (clay)
  Uruguay0
  Ecuador0
Montevideo, Uruguay (clay)
  South Africa5
  Brazil0
  South Africa5

Main Draw

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SemifinalsFinal
8–10 March
Bogotá, Colombia (clay)
  Chile
Bogotá, Colombia (clay)
bye
  Chile2
  South Africa3
  South Africaw/o[a]
  Argentina

Americas Inter-Zonal Final

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Colombia vs. South Africa

 
Colombia
2
Bogotá, Colombia[4]
10–12 May 1974
 
South Africa
3
1 2 3 4 5
1  
 
Iván Molina
Ray Moore
8
6
3
6
5
7
4
6
   
2  
 
Jairo Velasco
Bob Hewitt
1
6
3
6
2
6
     
3  
 
Iván Molina / Jairo Velasco
Bob Hewitt / Frew McMillan
3
6
0
6
3
6
     
4  
 
Jairo Velasco
Ray Moore
6
2
4
6
6
3
7
9
6
2
 
5  
 
Álvaro Betancur
Byron Bertram
6
2
4
6
8
6
8
6
   

Eastern Zone

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Preliminary rounds

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First RoundQualifying Round
  Pakistan
Karachi, Pakistan
bye
  Pakistan4
  Malaysia1
  Malaysia
bye
Manila, Philippines
  Philippines3
Manila, Philippines
  Indonesia1
  Philippines5
  Hong Kong0
  Hong Kong
bye
bye
Tokyo, Japan
  South Vietnam
  South Vietnam0
Tokyo, Japan
  Japan3
  Japan3
  South Korea0
bye
  Chinese Taipei
  Chinese Taipeiw/o
  Sri Lanka
bye
  Sri Lanka

Main Draw

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Quarterfinals
26–28 April
Semifinals
3–5 May
Final
10–12 May
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
  Australia
Rawalpindi, Pakistan
bye
  Australia3
Lahore, Pakistan
  Pakistan0
  Pakistan4
Calcutta, India
  Philippines1
  Australia2
Taipei, Taiwan (hard)
  India3
  Chinese Taipei0
Kanpur, India
  Japan3
  Japan1
  India4
bye
  India

Final

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India vs. Australia

 
India
3
Calcutta, India[5]
10–12 May 1974
 
Australia
2
1 2 3 4 5
1  
 
Jasjit Singh
Bob Giltinan
11
9
9
11
12
10
8
6
   
2  
 
Vijay Amritraj
John Alexander
12
14
15
17
8
6
2
6
   
3  
 
Anand Amritraj / Vijay Amritraj
John Alexander / Colin Dibley
17
15
6
8
6
3
16
18
6
4
 
4  
 
Jasjit Singh
John Alexander
6
8
4
6
3
6
     
5  
 
Vijay Amritraj
Bob Giltinan
6
1
5
7
6
4
6
4
   

The Eastern Zone Final set the Davis Cup record for the most games in a tie (327).[6]

Europe Zone

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Zone A

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Pre-qualifying rounds

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First RoundQualifying Round
Istanbul, Turkey (indoor clay)
  Turkey3
Istanbul, Turkey
  Lebanon2
  Turkey5
  Luxembourg0
bye
  Luxembourg

Preliminary rounds

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First RoundQualifying Round
  New Zealand
Vienna, Austria
bye
  New Zealand1
Zürich, Switzerland
  Austria3
   Switzerland2
  Austria3
  France
Porto, Portugal (clay)
bye
  France5
Lisbon, Portugal (clay)
  Portugal0
  Portugal4
  Ireland1
Warsaw, Poland
  Poland3
Båstad, Sweden (clay)
  Hungary2
  Poland1
  Sweden4
bye
  Sweden
Helsinki, Finland
  Finland5
Scheveningen, Netherlands (clay)
  Turkey0
  Finland1
  Netherlands4
bye
  Netherlands

Main Draw

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Quarterfinals
10–12 May; 24–26 May
Semifinals
19–21 July
Final
2–4 August
  Romania
Bucharest, Romania (clay)
bye
  Romania3
Vienna, Austria
  France2
  Austria1
Mestre, Italy (clay)
  France3
  Romania2
Båstad, Sweden (clay)
  Italy3
  Sweden4
Båstad, Sweden (clay)
  Netherlands1
  Sweden2
  Italy3
bye
  Italy

Final

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Italy vs. Romania

 
Italy
3
Mestre, Italy[7]
2–4 August 1974
Clay
 
Romania
2
1 2 3 4 5
1  
 
Corrado Barazzutti
Ilie Năstase
7
9
0
6
1
6
     
2  
 
Adriano Panatta
Ion Țiriac
6
1
6
3
6
2
     
3  
 
Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta
Ilie Năstase / Ion Țiriac
6
4
8
6
6
8
4
6
6
2
 
4  
 
Corrado Barazzutti
Ion Țiriac
6
3
6
0
6
0
     
5  
 
Adriano Panatta
Ilie Năstase
0
6
0
6
5
7
     

Zone B

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Pre-qualifying rounds

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First RoundQualifying Round
  Egypt
Cairo, Egypt
bye
  Egypt3
Lagos, Nigeria
  Morocco0
  Nigeria2
  Morocco3
bye
Tehran, Iran
  Iran
  Iran4
  Israel1
bye
  Israel

Preliminary rounds

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First RoundQualifying Round
  West Germany
West Berlin (clay)
bye
  West Germany5
Monte Carlo, Monaco (clay)
  Denmark0
  Monaco2
  Denmark3
  Spain
Barcelona, Spain (clay)
bye
  Spain5
Oslo, Norway (indoor hard)
  Norway0
  Norway4
  Iran1
Cairo, Egypt
  Egypt3
Cairo, Egypt (clay)
  Bulgaria1
  Egypt5
  Great Britain0
bye
  Great Britain
Brussels, Belgium
  Belgium5
Brussels, Belgium
  Greece0
  Belgium2
  Yugoslavia3
bye
  Yugoslavia

Main Draw

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Quarterfinals
10–12 May
Semifinals
19–21 July
Final
26–28 July
  Czechoslovakia
Munich, West Germany (clay)
bye
  Czechoslovakia3
Düsseldorf, West Germany
  West Germany2
  West Germany3
Donetsk, Soviet Union (clay)
  Spain2
  Czechoslovakia2
Cairo, Egypt
  Soviet Union3
  Egypt2
Donetsk, Soviet Union
  Yugoslavia3
  Yugoslavia1
  Soviet Union3
bye
  Soviet Union

Final

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Soviet Union vs. Czechoslovakia

 
Soviet Union
3
Donetsk, Soviet Union[8]
26–28 July 1974
Clay
 
Czechoslovakia
2
1 2 3 4 5
1  
 
Alex Metreveli
František Pála
6
2
6
4
3
6
6
2
   
2  
 
Teimuraz Kakulia
Jan Kodeš
4
6
2
6
3
6
     
3  
 
Vladimir Korotkov / Alex Metreveli
Jan Kodeš / Vladimír Zedník
4
6
1
6
3
6
     
4  
 
Alex Metreveli
Jan Kodeš
4
6
6
3
4
6
6
3
7
5
 
5  
 
Teimuraz Kakulia
František Pála
6
3
4
6
6
4
2
6
6
4
 

Inter-Zonal Zone

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Draw

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Semifinals
20 September–5 October
Final
Poona, India
EUR-B  Soviet Union1
EAS  India3
EAS  India
Johannesburg, South Africa
AME  South Africaw/o
AME  South Africa4
EUR-A  Italy1

Semifinals

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India vs. Soviet Union

 
India
3
Poona, India[9]
20–22 September 1974
 
Soviet Union
1
1 2 3 4 5
1  
 
Vijay Amritraj
Teimuraz Kakulia
6
4
11
9
6
3
     
2  
 
Anand Amritraj
Alex Metreveli
4
6
7
9
3
6
     
3  
 
Anand Amritraj / Vijay Amritraj
Vladimir Korotkov / Alex Metreveli
13
15
7
5
19
17
6
3
   
4  
 
Anand Amritraj
Teimuraz Kakulia
6
2
8
10
4
6
6
3
6
3
 
5  
 
Vijay Amritraj
Alex Metreveli
          not
played

South Africa vs. Italy

 
South Africa
4
Ellis Park, Johannesburg, South Africa[10]
3–5 October 1974 [b]
 
Italy
1
1 2 3 4 5
1  
 
Bob Hewitt
Antonio Zugarelli
4
6
6
0
9
7
4
6
6
1
 
2  
 
Ray Moore
Adriano Panatta
4
6
6
4
6
3
6
4
   
3  
 
Bob Hewitt / Frew McMillan
Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta
7
5
6
4
10
8
     
4  
 
Ray Moore
Antonio Zugarelli
6
3
7
5
6
3
     
5  
 
Bob Hewitt
Adriano Panatta
3
6
6
8
2
6
     

Final

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The final between South Africa and India was scheduled to be completed by 1 December 1974, but India refused to travel to South Africa due to their government's opposition to South Africa's apartheid policies: therefore, the final was scratched and South Africa were awarded the Davis Cup.[1][2]

Notes

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  1. ^ The tie between South Africa and Argentina was scratched and South Africa advanced to the South America Zone Final after Argentina refused to travel to South Africa due to their government's opposition to South Africa's apartheid policies.
  2. ^ The South Africa vs. Italy tie was originally scheduled to be played from 22 September, but was postponed due to disagreements over the venue: Italy originally refused to travel to South Africa, while South Africa rejected Italy's request to play the match in Rome.[11] The match eventually went ahead in South Africa on 3 October.

References

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  1. ^ a b Seminara, Dave (28 November 2009). "The Year the Davis Cup Felt Empty". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
  2. ^ a b "South Africa v India". daviscup.com.
  3. ^ Bud Collins (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 495–496, 499. ISBN 978-0942257700.
  4. ^ "Colombia v South Africa". daviscup.com.
  5. ^ "India v Australia". daviscup.com.
  6. ^ "Davis Cup – General Records". daviscup.com. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  7. ^ "Italy v Romania". daviscup.com.
  8. ^ "Soviet Union v Czechoslovakia". daviscup.com.
  9. ^ "India v Soviet Union". daviscup.com.
  10. ^ "South Africa v Italy". daviscup.com.
  11. ^ "Defaults seen as possibility in Davis Cup". Spokane Daily Chronicle. AP. 13 August 1974. p. 13 – via Google News Archive.
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