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The Americas Zone was one of the three regional zones of the 1978 Davis Cup.

10 teams entered the Americas Zone in total, with 3 teams entering the North & Central America Zone and 8 teams entering the South America Zone. The winner of each sub-zone advanced to the Americas Inter-Zonal Final, with the winner going on to compete in the Inter-Zonal Zone against the winners of the Eastern Zone and Europe Zone.

The United States defeated South Africa in the North & Central America Zone final, and Chile defeated Argentina in the South America Zone final. In the Americas Inter-Zonal Final the United States defeated Chile and progressed to the Inter-Zonal Zone.

The North & Central America Zone was marked by a number of incidents related to the continued presence of South Africa team. Canada, Mexico, Venezuela, and the Caribbean/West Indies teams all withdrew from the competition, and large scale protests accompanied the final between the United States and South Africa at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. In an effort to appease its critics, South Africa named Peter Lamb as one of the six members of its team, as its first-ever "coloured" player. However, Lamb did not play, and his inclusion in the squad was derided as tokenism. Crowds of up to 5000 turned out in protest.

North & Central America Zone

Draw

	Semifinals 15–17 December 1977					Final 17–19 March
	United States
						Nashville, TN, United States (indoor carpet)
	bye
						United States		4
	Johannesburg, South Africa
						South Africa		1
	South Africa		4
	Colombia		1

Semifinals

South Africa vs. Colombia

South Africa 4	Johannesburg, South Africa 15–17 December 1977		Colombia 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Byron Bertram Jairo Velasco 0 6 3 6 6 4 12 10 6 1   2 Ray Moore Iván Molina 5 7 2 6 6 4 2 6     3 Bob Hewitt / Frew McMillan Álvaro Betancur / Iván Molina 6 0 8 6 6 2       4 Byron Bertram Iván Molina 3 6 6 3 6 4 6 4     5 Ray Moore Álvaro Betancur 6 3 6 3 6 2

Final

United States vs. South Africa

United States 4	Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States 17–19 March 1978 Carpet (indoors)		South Africa 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Vitas Gerulaitis Bernard Mitton 2 6 6 2 6 1 7 5     2 Harold Solomon Byron Bertram 4 6 6 0 6 3 6 1     3 Fred McNair / Sherwood Stewart Bob Hewitt / Frew McMillan 0 6 3 6 4 6       4 Harold Solomon Bernard Mitton 7 5 6 4 6 2       5 Vitas Gerulaitis Byron Bertram 6 3 6 3 6 0

South America Zone

Preliminary rounds

Draw

	First Round 1–6 November 1977					Qualifying Round 9–11 December 1977
	Chile
						Santiago, Chile
	bye
						Chile		5
	Lima, Peru
						Bolivia		0
	Peru		0
	Bolivia		5
	Montevideo, Uruguay (clay)
	Uruguay		3
						Montevideo, Uruguay
	Ecuador		2
						Uruguay		4
						Brazil		1
	bye
	Brazil

First round

Peru vs. Bolivia

Peru 0	Lima, Peru 4–6 November 1977		Bolivia 5
1 2 3 4 5 1 Fernando Maynetto Mario Martínez 3 6 3 6 6 4 5 7     2 Miguel Maurtúa Ramiro Benavides 2 6 4 6 6 4 5 7     3 Miguel Maurtúa / Fernando Maynetto Juan Carlos Alvarado / Ramiro Benavides 6 3 6 8 2 6 7 5 3 6   4 Miguel Maurtúa Mario Martínez 4 6 6 4 4 6 8 10     5 Luis Alberto Olmedo Juan Carlos Alvarado 0 6 1 6 3 6

Uruguay vs. Ecuador

Uruguay 3	Montevideo, Uruguay November 1977 Clay		Ecuador 2
1 2 3 4 5 1 Hugo Roverano Ricardo Pazmiño 6 2 6 2 6 1       2 José Luis Damiani Ricardo Ycaza 4 6 5 7 1 6       3 José Luis Damiani / Hugo Roverano Miguel Olvera / Ricardo Ycaza 6 3 6 2 6 2       4 José Luis Damiani Ricardo Pazmiño 6 1 6 0 6 2       5 Hugo Roverano Ricardo Ycaza 5 7 2 6 4 6

Qualifying round

Chile vs. Bolivia

Chile 5	Santiago, Chile 9–11 December 1977		Bolivia 0
1 2 3 4 5 1 Belus Prajoux Mario Martínez 6 4 6 1 6 3       2 Hans Gildemeister Ramiro Benavides 6 2 6 2 6 1       3 Patricio Cornejo / Jaime Fillol Juan Carlos Alvarado / Ramiro Benavides 3 6 6 2 6 0 8 6     4 Hans Gildemeister Mario Martínez 6 3 6 1 6 3       5 Belus Prajoux Ramiro Benavides 6 1 6 1 6 1

Uruguay vs. Brazil

Uruguay 4	Montevideo, Uruguay 9–11 December 1977		Brazil 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 José Luis Damiani Thomaz Koch 7 5 6 4 6 0       2 Hugo Roverano Carlos Kirmayr 0 6 6 2 6 3 4 6 7 5   3 José Luis Damiani / Hugo Roverano Carlos Kirmayr / Thomaz Koch 9 7 6 3 6 2       4 José Luis Damiani Marcos Hocevar 6 3 6 4 6 4       5 Hugo Roverano Fernando Gentil 1 6 3 6 7 5 5 7

Main draw

Draw

	Semifinals 18–20 December 1977					Final 17–19 March
	Santiago, Chile
	Chile		5
						Santiago, Chile (clay)
	Uruguay		0
						Chile		3
						Argentina		2
	bye
	Argentina

Semifinals

Chile vs. Uruguay

Chile 5	Santiago, Chile 18–20 December 1977		Uruguay 0
1 2 3 4 5 1 Jaime Fillol Hugo Roverano 9 7 6 3 6 0       2 Hans Gildemeister José Luis Damiani 6 2 6 2 6 2       3 Patricio Cornejo / Belus Prajoux José Luis Damiani / Hugo Roverano 6 4 6 4 6 2       4 Jaime Fillol José Luis Damiani 8 6 6 0 6 2       5 Hans Gildemeister Hugo Roverano 6 1 6 4 6 2

Final

Chile vs. Argentina

Chile 3	Santiago, Chile 17–19 March 1978 Clay		Argentina 2
1 2 3 4 5 1 Hans Gildemeister Guillermo Vilas 9 7 6 3 3 6 6 4     2 Jaime Fillol Ricardo Cano 6 2 6 3 6 3       3 Patricio Cornejo / Jaime Fillol José Luis Clerc / Guillermo Vilas 4 6 3 6 3 6       4 Hans Gildemeister Ricardo Cano 6 4 7 5 6 4       5 Jaime Fillol Guillermo Vilas 3 6 4 6 0 6

Americas Inter-Zonal Final

Chile vs. United States

Chile 2	Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile 15–17 September 1978 Clay		United States 3
1 2 3 4 5 1 Jaime Fillol Brian Gottfried 4 6 5 7 2 6       2 Hans Gildemeister Harold Solomon 5 7 6 3 3 6 1 6     3 Jaime Fillol / Belus Prajoux Brian Gottfried / John McEnroe 6 3 3 6 6 8 3 6     4 Jaime Fillol Harold Solomon 6 3 6 2         5 Hans Gildemeister Brian Gottfried 4 6 7 5 12 10

References

1. Bud Collins (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). : New Chapter Press. pp. 495–506. ISBN 978-0942257700.
2. ^ "United States v South Africa". daviscup.com.
3. ^ "Chile v Argentina". daviscup.com.
4. ^ "Chile v United States". daviscup.com.
5. "Canada heads pullout from 1978 Davis Cup". Montreal Gazette. Reuters. 4 July 1977. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
6. "African Activist Archive". Africanactivist.msu.edu. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
7. Jerome, Jim. "Apartheid Critics Say He's Merely a Token, but Peter Lamb's Davis Cup Runneth Over". People.com. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
8. "African Activist Archive". Africanactivist.msu.edu. Retrieved 29 September 2013.
9. "South Africa v Colombia". daviscup.com.
10. "Peru v Bolivia". daviscup.com.
11. "Uruguay v Ecuador". daviscup.com.
12. "Chile v Bolivia". daviscup.com.
13. "Uruguay v Brazil". daviscup.com.
14. "Chile v Uruguay". daviscup.com.
15. "Jaime Fillol vs Brian Gottfried". atptour.com.

External links

• Davis Cup official website

• Davis Cup Americas Zone
• 1978 Davis Cup
• 1978 in American tennis
• 1978 in Chilean sport
• 1978 in South African sport