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
Duration10 November 1972 – 2 December 1973
Edition62nd
Teams53
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.[1]

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.[1][2][3]

Americas Zone

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North & Central America Zone

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Preliminary rounds

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First Round
23–25 February
Qualifying Round
9–11 March
Bogotá, Colombia (clay)
  Colombia4
Bogotá, Colombia
  Canada1
  Colombia3
  Caribbean/West Indies2
Mexico City, Mexico (clay)
  Mexico4
  Venezuela1

Main Draw

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Semifinals
23–25 March
Final
11–13 May
Mexico City, Mexico (clay)
  United States4
Mexico City, Mexico (clay)
  Mexico1
  Mexico5
  Colombia0

South America Zone

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Preliminary rounds

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First Round
23–25 February
Qualifying Round
2–4 March; 23–25 March
Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay)
  Argentina5
Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay)
  Ecuador0
  Argentina4
  Brazil1
Punta del Este, Uruguay
  Uruguay0
  South Africa5

Main Draw

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Semifinals
13–15 April
Final
4–6 May
Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay)
  Chile3
Montevideo, Uruguay (clay)
  Argentina2
  Argentina4
  South Africa1

Americas Inter-Zonal Final

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United States vs. Chile

 
United States
4
Burns Park Tennis Club, North Little Rock, Arkansas, United States[4]
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).[5]

Eastern Zone

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Preliminary round
23–28 March
QuarterfinalsSemifinalsFinal
Tokyo, Japan
  Australia4
Seoul, South Korea
  Japan1
  South Korea1
Tokyo, Japan
  Japan4
  Japan3
Jakarta, Indonesia
  Indonesia0
  Indonesia5
Madras, India
  Hong Kong0
  Australia4
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  India0
  Malaysia0
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (grass)
  Pakistan3
  Pakistan4
Penang, Malaysia (grass)
  South Vietnam1
  South Vietnam3
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (grass)
  Sri Lanka0
  Pakistan0
  India4

Final

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India vs. Australia

 
India
0
Madras, India[6]
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

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Zone A

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Preliminary round

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Preliminary round
13–22 April
Vienna, Austria
  Austria3
  Monaco0
Dublin, Ireland (indoor hard)
  Ireland0
  Norway5
Athens, Greece
  Greece3
  Finland2

Main Draw

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First Round
3–6 May
Quarterfinals
18–20 May
Semifinals
20–22 July
Final
3–5 August
  Romania
Scheveningen, Netherlands (clay)
bye
  Romania3
Tel Aviv, Israel (hard)
  Netherlands2
  Israel1
Bucharest, Romania (clay)
  Netherlands4
  Romania4
  New Zealand1
  Yugoslavia
Zagreb, Yugoslavia (clay)
bye
  Yugoslavia2
Vienna, Austria (clay)
  New Zealand3
  Austria2
Bucharest, Romania
  New Zealand3
  Romania3
Oslo, Norway (clay)
  Soviet Union2
  Norway3
Oslo, Norway (clay)
  Denmark2
  Norway0
  France5
bye
Moscow, Soviet Union
  France
  France2
Athens, Greece
  Soviet Union3
  Greece1
Budapest, Hungary
  Hungary4
  Hungary2
  Soviet Union3
bye
  Soviet Union

Final

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Romania vs. Soviet Union

 
Romania
3
Bucharest, Romania[7]
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

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Preliminary round

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Preliminary round
10–12 November 1972; 6–22 April
SemifinalsFinal
Cairo, Egypt
  Egypt5
  Turkey0
Lisbon, Portugal (clay)
  Portugal0
   Switzerland5
Sofia, Bulgaria
  Bulgaria5
  Iran0
Casablanca, Morocco
  Morocco5
  Luxembourg0

Main Draw

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First Round
27 April–6 May
Quarterfinals
18–20 May
Semifinals
20–22 July
Final
3–5 August
  Czechoslovakia
Cairo, Egypt (clay)
bye
  Czechoslovakia4
Cairo, Egypt
  Egypt1
  Egypt4
Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)
  Poland1
  Czechoslovakia3
  West Germany2
  Great Britain
Munich, West Germany (clay)
bye
  Great Britain1
Geneva, Switzerland
  West Germany4
   Switzerland0
Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)
  West Germany3
  Czechoslovakia4
Sofia, Bulgaria
  Italy1
  Bulgaria3
Reggio Emilia, Italy (clay)
  Belgium2
  Bulgaria0
  Italy5
bye
Turin, Italy
  Italy
  Italy3
Rabat, Morocco (clay)
  Spain2
  Morocco1
Båstad, Sweden (clay)
  Sweden4
  Sweden2
  Spain3
bye
  Spain

Final

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Czechoslovakia vs. Italy

 
Czechoslovakia
4
Prague, Czechoslovakia[8]
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

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Draw

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Semifinals
17–19 August; 16–18 November
Final
30 November–2 December
Melbourne, Australia
EUR-B  Czechoslovakia1
Cleveland, Ohio, United States (indoor carpet)
EAS  Australia4
EAS  Australia5
Alamo, California, United States (hard)
AME  United States0
AME  United States4
EUR-A  Romania1

Semifinals

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Australia vs. Czechoslovakia

 
Australia
4
Kooyong Stadium, Melbourne, Australia[9]
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[10]
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

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United States vs. Australia

 
United States
0
Public Auditorium, Cleveland, Ohio, United States[3]
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
   

References

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  1. ^ a b Bud Collins (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 495–496, 499. ISBN 978-0942257700.
  2. ^ Max Robertson (1974). The Encyclopedia of Tennis. London: Allen & Unwin. p. 384. ISBN 0047960426.
  3. ^ a b "United States v Australia". daviscup.com.
  4. ^ "United States v Chile". daviscup.com.
  5. ^ "Davis Cup – General Records". daviscup.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  6. ^ "India v Australia". daviscup.com.
  7. ^ "Romania v Soviet Union". daviscup.com.
  8. ^ "Czechoslovakia v Italy". daviscup.com.
  9. ^ "Australia v Czechoslovakia". daviscup.com.
  10. ^ "United States v Romania". daviscup.com.
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