1979 Nations Cup (tennis)

1979 Nations Cup
Date	May 7 – 14
Edition	3rd
Category	Grand Prix circuit
Draw	8 teams
Prize money	$250,000
Surface	Clay / outdoor
Location	Düsseldorf, West Germany
Venue	Rochusclub
Champions
Australia

The 1979 Nations Cup, also known by its sponsored name Ambre Solaire Nations Cup, was a men's team tennis tournament played on outdoor clay courts. It was the third edition of the World Team Cup and was part of the 1979 Grand Prix circuit. It took place at the Rochusclub in Düsseldorf in Germany from 7 May through 14 May 1979. Total prize money was $250,000 and in total 44,500 people attended the event.^[1][2] Spain were the defending champions but did not compete that year. Australia defeated Italy in the final, which was delayed by one day due to rain, to win the title for the first time.^[3][4]

The draw consisted of eight teams divided over two round-robin groups. The two best ranked teams from each group proceeded to the semifinals. Each match consisted of two singles and a doubles.

Players

Section A

Argentina Ricardo Cano José Luis Clerc

United Kingdom Mark Cox John Lloyd Buster Mottram

Italy Corrado Barazzutti Paolo Bertolucci Adriano Panatta

Spain José Higueras Manuel Orantes

Section B

Australia John Alexander Phil Dent Kevin Warwick

Germany Rolf Gehring Uli Pinner Andreas Maurer Werner Zirngibl

Mexico Marcello Lara Raúl Ramírez

United States Arthur Ashe Eddie Dibbs Stan Smith

Round robin

Section A

Standings

Pos.	Country	Points	Matches	Sets
1	Italy	3–0	7–1	–
2	Argentina	2–1	5–4	–
3	Spain	1–2	3–6	–
4	Great Britain	0–3	2–6	–

Italy vs. Spain

Italy 3	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay		Spain 0
1 2 3 1 Adriano Panatta Manuel Orantes 7 6 6 0     2 Paolo Bertolucci José Higueras 6 3 6 4     3 Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta José Higueras / Manuel Orantes 7 5 6 2

Argentina vs. Great Britain

Argentina 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay		Great Britain 1
1 2 3 1 Ricardo Cano John Lloyd 6 4 7 5     2 José Luis Clerc Buster Mottram 6 3 7 5     3 Ricardo Cano / José Luis Clerc Mark Cox / John Lloyd 2 6 2 6

Spain vs. Great Britain

Spain 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay		Great Britain 1
1 2 3 1 José Higueras John Lloyd 6 2 6 4     2 Manuel Orantes Buster Mottram 5 7 6 1 1 6   3 José Higueras / Manuel Orantes John Lloyd / Buster Mottram 6 4 6 3

Italy vs. Argentina

Italy 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay		Argentina 1
1 2 3 1 Adriano Panatta Ricardo Cano 4 6 6 3 6 1   2 Corrado Barazzutti José Luis Clerc 6 7 0 6     3 Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta Ricardo Cano / José Luis Clerc 6 4 6 7 6 3

Italy vs. Great Britain

Italy 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay		Great Britain 0
1 2 3 1 Paolo Bertolucci John Lloyd 6 1 6 4     2 Corrado Barazzutti Buster Mottram 2 6 7^7 6^3 6^5 7^7   3

Argentina vs. Spain

Argentina 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay		Spain 1
1 2 3 1 2 3

Section B

Standings

Pos.	Country	Points	Matches	Sets
1	Australia	3–0	5–4	–
2	United States	2–1	6–3	–
3	Germany	1–2	4–5	–
4	Mexico	0–3	3–3	–

Australia vs. USA

Australia 3 [5]	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay		United States 0
1 2 3 1 Kim Warwick Eddie Dibbs 6 2 6 2     2 John Alexander Arthur Ashe 4 6 6 3 6 2   3 John Alexander / Phil Dent Arthur Ashe / Stan Smith 4 6 7 6 7 6

Germany vs. Mexico

Germany 2 [6]	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay		Mexico 1
1 2 3 1 Uli Pinner Raúl Ramírez 7 5 4 6 7 5   2 3

USA vs. Germany

United States 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay		Germany 1
1 2 3 1 2 3 Arthur Ashe / Stan Smith Andreas Maurer / Werner Zirngibl 6 0 6 2

Australia vs. Mexico

Australia 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay		Mexico 0
1 2 3 1 John Alexander Raúl Ramírez 6 3 1 6 7 6   2 Phil Dent Marcello Lara 6 3 4 6 6 4   3

Semifinal

Australia vs. Argentina

Australia 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay		Argentina 1
1 2 3 1 Kevin Warwick Ricardo Cano 1 6 3 6     2 John Alexander José Luis Clerc 4 6 7 6 7 5   3 John Alexander / Phil Dent Ricardo Cano / José Luis Clerc 6 0 6 0

Italy vs. USA

Italy 3	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay		United States 0
1 2 3 1 Adriano Panatta Eddie Dibbs 6 3 6 0     2 Corrado Barazzutti Arthur Ashe 6 2 6 2     3 Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta Arthur Ashe / Stan Smith 6 4 6 4

Final

Australia vs. Italy

Australia 2	Düsseldorf, Germany 14 May 1979 Clay		Italy 1
1 2 3 1 John Alexander Corrado Barazzutti 6 2 6 0     2 Phil Dent Adriano Panatta 3 6 3 6     3 John Alexander / Phil Dent Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta 6 3 7 6

See also

• 1979 Davis Cup

References

1. John Barrett, ed. (1980). World of Tennis 1980 : a BP yearbook. London: Queen Anne Press. pp. 238,239. ISBN 9780362020120. OCLC 237184610.
2. "Sports In Brief". Kentucky New Era. May 9, 1979.
3. "Australia topples Italy in Nations Cup Tennis". Boca Raton News. May 15, 1979.
4. "Italy, Australia advance to Nation's Cup net final". Lakeland Ledger. May 14, 1979.
5. "Tennis". De Telegraaf. 10 May 1979.
6. "Tennissurprise West-Duitsland". Het vrije volk. 9 May 1979.