1972 Davis Cup

The 1972 Davis Cup was the 61st edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 55 teams would enter the competition, 33 in the Europe Zone, 11 in the Americas Zone, and 11 in the Eastern Zone.

1972 Davis Cup

Details
Duration	20 March – 15 October 1972
Edition	61st
Teams	52
Champion
Winning nation	United States
← 1971 1973 →

From this year's tournament onward, the Challenge Round was abolished, meaning the defending champion would now play in all matches rather than receiving a bye to the final, and the winner of the Inter-Zonal Zone would win the Davis Cup.

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

In the Inter-Zonal Zone, the United States defeated Spain and Romania defeated Australia in the semifinals. The United States then defeated Romania in the final, giving the United States their fifth straight title. The final was played at the Club Sportiv Progresul in Bucharest, Romania on 13–15 October.^[1][2][3]

Americas Zone

Further information: 1972 Davis Cup Americas Zone

North & Central America Zone

	Semifinals 20–22 March; 12–14 May					Final 16–18 June
	Kingston, Jamaica (indoor carpet)
	United States		4
						Mexico City, Mexico (clay)
	Caribbean/West Indies		1
						United States		5
	Vancouver, Canada (clay)
						Mexico		0
	Canada		2
	Mexico		3

South America Zone

Quarterfinals 20–26 March

Semifinals 8–10 April

Final 21–23 April

Argentina

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (clay)

bye

Argentina

2

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Brazil

3

Brazil

4

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Venezuela

0

Brazil

2

Santiago, Chile

Chile

3

Chile

4

Santiago, Chile

Peru

1

Chile

4

Guayaquil, Ecuador (clay)

Colombia

1

Ecuador

1

Colombia

4

Americas Inter-Zonal Final

Chile vs. United States

Chile 0	Stade Français, Santiago, Chile[4] 21–24 July 1972		United States 5
1 2 3 4 5 1 Jaime Pinto Bravo Stan Smith 1 6 5 7 2 6       2 Patricio Cornejo Harold Solomon 7 9 6 4 1 6 6 3 2 6   3 Patricio Cornejo / Jaime Fillol Stan Smith / Erik van Dillen 2 6 4 6 6 4 6 3 3 6   4 Jaime Pinto Bravo Harold Solomon 1 6 1 6 2 6       5 Patricio Cornejo Stan Smith 4 6 6 1 7 9 1 6

Eastern Zone

Further information: 1972 Davis Cup Eastern Zone

Zone A

Quarterfinals 24–26 March

Semifinals 8–16 April

Final 28–30 April

Australia

Seoul, South Korea

bye

Australia

5

South Korea

0

South Korea

w/o

Tokyo, Japan

Philippines

Australia

4

Saigon, South Vietnam

Japan

1

South Vietnam

5

Saigon, South Vietnam

Chinese Taipei

0

South Vietnam

2

Hong Kong

Japan

3

Hong Kong

0

Japan

5

Zone B

	Semifinals 1–3 April					Final 28–30 April
	Lucknow, India
	India		5
						Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
	Ceylon		0
						India		5
						Malaysia		0
	Malaysia		w/o
	Pakistan

Eastern Inter-Zonal Final

India vs. Australia

India 0	Bangalore, India[5] 16–18 May 1972		Australia 5
1 2 3 4 5 1 Vijay Amritraj Mal Anderson 4 6 4 6 2 6       2 Jaidip Mukerjea Geoff Masters 3 6 3 6 6 3 6 1 3 6   3 Premjit Lall / Jaidip Mukerjea Colin Dibley / Geoff Masters 2 6 4 6 6 3 3 6     4 Anand Amritraj Ross Case 1 6 6 8 5 7       5 Vijay Amritraj Colin Dibley 5 7 6 4 3 6 2 6

Europe Zone

Further information: 1972 Davis Cup Europe Zone

Zone A

	Preliminary Round 21–23 April
	Tel Aviv, Israel (hard)
	Israel		1
	Iran		4

First Round 1–13 May

Quarterfinals 18–22 May

Semifinals 9–18 June

Final 21–23 July

Bucharest, Romania (clay)

Romania

5

Bucharest, Romania (clay)

Switzerland

0

Romania

5

Tehran, Iran

Iran

0

Iran

4

Bucharest, Romania (clay)

Egypt

1

Romania

4

Reggio Calabria, Italy (clay)

Italy

1

Italy

5

San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy (clay)

Austria

0

Italy

4

Scheveningen, Netherlands (clay)

Netherlands

1

Netherlands

5

Tbilisi, Soviet Union

Norway

0

Romania

3

Helsinki, Finland (clay)

Soviet Union

2

Finland

2

Copenhagen, Denmark (clay)

Denmark

3

Denmark

0

Warsaw, Poland

Poland

5

Poland

3

Warsaw, Poland

Yugoslavia

1

Poland

0

Beirut, Lebanon (clay)

Soviet Union

4

Lebanon

0

Casablanca, Morocco

Morocco

5

Morocco

0

Tbilisi, Soviet Union

Soviet Union

5

Soviet Union

3

Hungary

2

Zone A Final

Soviet Union vs. Romania

Soviet Union 2	Tbilisi, Soviet Union[6] 21–23 July 1972		Romania 3
1 2 3 4 5 1 Alex Metreveli Ilie Năstase 4 6 0 6 4 6       2 Teimuraz Kakulia Ion Țiriac 6 4 7 5 6 1       3 Sergei Likhachev / Alex Metreveli Ilie Năstase / Ion Țiriac 2 6 4 6 3 6       4 Alex Metreveli Ion Țiriac 2 6 6 4 1 6 6 4 6 3   5 Teimuraz Kakulia Ilie Năstase 2 6 2 6 3 6

Zone B

First Round 28 April–7 May

Quarterfinals 19–22 May

Semifinals 14–18 June

Final 21–24 July

Brussels, Belgium (clay)

Czechoslovakia

3

Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)

Belgium

2

Czechoslovakia

3

Båstad, Sweden (clay)

Sweden

1

Sweden

4

Düsseldorf, West Germany (clay)

New Zealand

1

Czechoslovakia

3

Athens, Greece

West Germany

2

Greece

0

West Berlin

West Germany

5

West Germany

5

Cork, Ireland

Ireland

0

Ireland

5

Barcelona, Spain (clay)

Turkey

0

Czechoslovakia

2

Paris, France (clay)

Spain

3

France

4

Paris, France (clay)

Great Britain

1

France

2

Sofia, Bulgaria

Spain

3

Bulgaria

0

Avilés, Spain

Spain

5

Spain

5

Monte Carlo, Monaco

Monaco

0

Monaco

3

Monte Carlo, Monaco (clay)

Luxembourg

2

Monaco

3

Portugal

2

Portugal

w/o

South Africa

Zone B Final

Spain vs. Czechoslovakia

Spain 3	Barcelona, Spain[7] 21–24 July 1972 Clay		Czechoslovakia 2
1 2 3 4 5 1 Juan Gisbert Jan Kodeš 8 6 6 4 5 7 0 6 6 4   2 Manuel Orantes František Pála 5 7 4 6 6 0 7 5 4 6   3 Juan Gisbert / Manuel Orantes Jan Kodeš / Jan Kukal 10 12 6 2 7 5 6 4     4 Juan Gisbert František Pála 6 3 6 3 4 6 6 0     5 Antonio Muñoz Jiří Hřebec 4 6 0 6 3 6

Inter-Zonal Zone

Draw

	Semifinals 4–7 August					Final 13–15 October
	Barcelona, Spain (clay)
	EUR-B	Spain	2
						Bucharest, Romania (clay)
	AME	United States	3
						AME	United States	3
	Bucharest, Romania (clay)
						EUR-A	Romania	2
	EAS	Australia	1
	EUR-A	Romania	4

Semifinals

Spain vs. United States

Spain 2	Real Club de Tenis, Barcelona, Spain[8] 4–7 August 1972 Clay		United States 3
1 2 3 4 5 1 Andrés Gimeno Stan Smith 6 8 7 5 6 3 6 4     2 Juan Gisbert Harold Solomon 7 9 5 7 6 0 6 1 4 6   3 Andrés Gimeno / Juan Gisbert Stan Smith / Erik van Dillen 3 6 6 0 2 6 3 6     4 Andrés Gimeno Harold Solomon 6 3 6 1 2 6 6 2     5 Juan Gisbert Stan Smith 9 11 8 10 4 6

Romania vs. Australia

Romania 4	Bucharest, Romania[9] 4–7 August 1972 Clay		Australia 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Ion Țiriac Mal Anderson 6 2 6 2 6 8 4 6 4 6   2 Ilie Năstase Colin Dibley 6 3 6 0 6 2       3 Ilie Năstase / Ion Țiriac Mal Anderson / Colin Dibley 6 2 6 2 6 2       4 Ion Țiriac Colin Dibley 6 3 3 6 11 13 6 3 6 0   5 Ilie Năstase Mal Anderson 6 2 6 2 4 6 6 3

Final

Romania vs. United States

Romania 2	Club Sportiv Progresul, Bucharest, Romania[3] 13–15 October 1972 Clay		United States 3
1 2 3 4 5 1 Ilie Năstase Stan Smith 9 11 2 6 3 6       2 Ion Țiriac Tom Gorman 4 6 2 6 6 4 6 3 6 2   3 Ilie Năstase / Ion Țiriac Stan Smith / Erik van Dillen 2 6 0 6 3 6       4 Ion Țiriac Stan Smith 6 4 2 6 4 6 6 2 0 6   5 Ilie Năstase Tom Gorman 6 1 6 2 5 7 10 8