Edition 66th | ||
The 1977 Davis Cup was the 66th edition of the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 59 teams would enter the competition, 33 in the Europe Zone, 14 in the Americas Zone, and 12 in the Eastern Zone.
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Argentina defeated the United States in the Americas Zone final, Australia defeated New Zealand in the Eastern Zone final, and Italy and France won the Europe Zones. In the Inter-Zonal Zone, Australia defeated Argentina and Italy defeated France. Australia defeated Italy in the final, which was held at White City Stadium in Sydney, Australia, on 2–4 December.
The Soviet Union was barred from the competition as punishment for refusing to compete in the 1976 semifinal against Chile. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s the Davis Cup had been affected by protests and defaults, in opposition to the racist policies of Rhodesia and South Africa and to the seizure of power in Chile by Augusto Pinochet. The Davis Cup management committee sought to keep politics from interfering with the competition, and felt the need to take action. The Soviets were also barred from competing in the Federation Cup, as were Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and the Philippines.