1978 Nations Cup (tennis)

1978 Nations Cup
Date	May 8 – 15
Edition	2nd
Category	Grand Prix circuit
Draw	8 teams
Prize money	£100,000
Surface	Clay / outdoor
Location	Düsseldorf, West Germany
Venue	Rochusclub
Champions
Spain

The 1978 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 second edition of the Nations Cup and the event was part of the 1978 Grand Prix circuit. It took place at the Rochusclub in Düsseldorf in West Germany from 8 May through 15 May 1978. Total prize money was £100,000 and in total 36,000 people attended the event.^[1] The United States were the defending champions. Spain defeated Australia in the final, watched by a crowd of nearly 7,000, to win the title for the first time and earn the $60,000 first-prize money.^[2][3]

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

Chile Hans Gildemeister Jaime Fillol Patricio Cornejo

Germany Rolf Gehring Jürgen Fassbender Uli Pinner

Italy Paolo Bertolucci Adriano Panatta Antonio Zugarelli

Spain José Higueras Manuel Orantes

Section B

Australia Phil Dent John Newcombe

United Kingdom John Lloyd Buster Mottram

Poland Wojciech Fibak Tadeusz Nowicki

United States Bob Lutz Harold Solomon Roscoe Tanner

Round robin

Section A

Standings

Pos.	Country	Points	Matches	Sets
1	Italy	3–0	6–2	13–9
2	Spain	2–1	5–4	–
3	Chile	1–2	4–5	–
4	Germany	0–3	3–6	–

Spain vs. Germany

Spain 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1978 Clay		Germany 1
1 2 3 1 Manuel Orantes Jürgen Fassbender 7 5 2 6 6 1   2 José Higueras Uli Pinner 6 3 6 3     3 Manuel Orantes / José Higueras Uli Pinner / Jürgen Fassbender 6 2 5 7 3 6

Italy vs. Chile

Italy 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1978 Clay		Chile 1
1 2 3 1 Adriano Panatta Jaime Fillol 6 3 6 1     2 Paolo Bertolucci Hans Gildemeister 6 3 3 6 5 7   3 Adriano Panatta / Paolo Bertolucci Patricio Cornejo / Jaime Fillol 6 4 6 4

Chile vs. Germany

Chile 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1978 Clay		Germany 1
1 2 3 1 Jaime Fillol Jürgen Fassbender 6 4 1 6 6 3   2 Hans Gildemeister Uli Pinner 4 6 5 7     3 Patricio Cornejo / Jaime Fillol Jürgen Fassbender / Uli Pinner 6 4 7 6

Italy vs. Spain

Italy 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1978 Clay		Spain 1
1 2 3 1 Adriano Panatta Manuel Orantes 7 6 6 7 6 3   2 Paolo Bertolucci José Higueras 2 6 4 6     3 Adriano Panatta / Paolo Bertolucci Manuel Orantes / José Higueras 6 1 6 3

Italy vs. Germany

Italy 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1978 Clay		Germany 1
1 2 3 1 Adriano Panatta Jürgen Fassbender 5 7 4 6     2 Paolo Bertolucci Rolf Gehring 6 4 3 6 6 4   3 Adriano Panatta / Paolo Bertolucci Jürgen Fassbender / Rolf Gehring 6 7 7 6 7 6

Spain vs. Chile

Spain 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1978 Clay		Chile 1
1 2 3 1 Manuel Orantes Jaime Fillol 6 2 6 4     2 José Higueras Hans Gildemeister 6 4 2 6 7 5   3 Manuel Orantes / José Higueras Jaime Fillol / Patricio Cornejo 6 4 6 7 2 6

Section B

Standings

Pos.	Country	Points	Matches	Sets
1	United States	3–0	6–3	–
2	Australia	2–1	5–4	–
3	Great Britain	1–2	4–5	–
4	Poland	0–3	3–6	–

USA vs. Australia

United States 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1978 Clay		Australia 1
1 2 3 1 Roscoe Tanner Phil Dent 6 2 7 6     2 Harold Solomon John Newcombe 6 4 6 4     3 Roscoe Tanner / Bob Lutz Phil Dent / John Newcombe 3 6 6 3 3 6

Great Britain vs. Poland

Great Britain 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1978 Clay		Poland 1
1 2 3 1 Buster Mottram Wojciech Fibak 6 3 2 6 6 7   2 John Lloyd Tadeusz Nowicki 6 2 6 2     3 John Lloyd / Buster Mottram Wojciech Fibak / Tadeusz Nowicki 2 6 6 2 7 6

USA vs. Poland

United States 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1978 Clay		Poland 1
1 2 3 1 Roscoe Tanner Wojciech Fibak 6 2 6 4     2 Harold Solomon Tadeusz Nowicki 6 2 6 2     3 Roscoe Tanner / Bob Lutz Wojciech Fibak / Tadeusz Nowicki 6 7 6 0 3 6

Australia vs. Great Britain

Australia 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1978 Clay		Great Britain 1
1 2 3 1 Phil Dent Buster Mottram 6 2 7 6     2 John Newcombe John Lloyd 6 7 2 6     3 Phil Dent / John Newcombe John Lloyd / Buster Mottram 2 6 6 3 7 5

USA vs. Great Britain

United States 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1978 Clay		Great Britain 1
1 2 3 1 Roscoe Tanner Buster Mottram 4 6 6 7     2 Harold Solomon John Lloyd 6 3 6 0     3 Roscoe Tanner / Bob Lutz John Lloyd / Buster Mottram 6 3 7 5

Australia vs. Poland

Australia 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1978 Clay		Poland 1
1 2 3 1 Phil Dent Wojciech Fibak 0 6 1 6     2 John Newcombe Tadeusz Nowicki 7 5 6 1     3 Phil Dent / John Newcombe Wojciech Fibak / Tadeusz Nowicki 6 2 6 2

Semifinal

Australia vs. Italy

Australia 3	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1978 Clay		Italy 0
1 2 3 1 Phil Dent Adriano Panatta 7 6 5 4     2 John Newcombe Paolo Bertolucci 6 3 6 2     3 John Newcombe / Phil Dent Paolo Bertolucci / Antonio Zugarelli 7 6 5 3

Spain vs. USA

Spain 2	Düsseldorf, Germany May 1978 Clay		United States 1
1 2 3 1 Manuel Orantes Roscoe Tanner 6 4 7 6     2 José Higueras Harold Solomon 6 2 6 2     3 Manuel Orantes / José Higueras Harold Solomon / Bob Lutz 6 2 4 6 5 7

Final

Spain vs. Australia

Spain 2	Düsseldorf, Germany 16 May 1978 Clay		Australia 1
1 2 3 1 José Higueras John Newcombe 6 2 6 3     2 Manuel Orantes Phil Dent 6 3 6 4     3 Manuel Orantes / José Higueras John Newcombe / Phil Dent 6 7 4 6

See also

• 1978 Davis Cup

References

1. John Barrett, ed. (1979). World of Tennis 1979 : a BP yearbook. London: Macdonald and Jane's. pp. 217–217. ISBN 978-0354090681.
2. "Spanish Players Claim First". Herald-Journal. AP. May 16, 1978. p. A7.
3. "Results – Other Events – Ambre Solaire Nations Cup". Tennis – Incorporating Lawn Tennis Magazine. 3 (6): 75. July 1978.