The 1975 Davis Cup was the 64th edition of the
Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 55 teams would enter the competition, 32 in the Europe Zone, 12 in the Americas Zone, and 11 in the Eastern Zone.
Kenya
)
, national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
...
made its first appearance in the tournament.
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
defeated
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
in the Americas Inter-Zonal final,
Australia defeated
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
in the Eastern Zone final, and
Sweden and
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
were the winners of the two Europe Zones, defeating
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
respectively.
In the Inter-Zonal Zone, Czechoslovakia defeated Australia and Sweden defeated Chile in the semifinals. Sweden then defeated Czechoslovakia in the final to win their first title and become the sixth nation to win the Davis Cup. The final was held at the
Kungliga tennishallen in
Stockholm,
Sweden on 19–21 December.
Americas Zone
North & Central America Zone
Preliminary Rounds
Main Draw
South America Zone
Preliminary Rounds
Main Draw
Americas Inter-Zonal Final
Chile vs. South Africa
Eastern Zone
Final
New Zealand vs. Australia
Europe Zone
Zone A
Pre-Qualifying Round
Preliminary Rounds
Main Draw
Final
Spain vs. Sweden
Zone B
Pre-Qualifying Round
Preliminary Rounds
Main Draw
Final
Czechoslovakia vs. France
Inter-Zonal Zone
Draw
Semifinals
Sweden vs. Chile
Czechoslovakia vs. Australia
Final
Sweden vs. Czechoslovakia
Controversy
The Inter-Zonal Zone semifinal between
Sweden and
Chile
Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...
was played on 19–21 September in
Båstad,
Sweden, two years after
Augusto Pinochet
Augusto José Ramón Pinochet Ugarte (, , , ; 25 November 1915 – 10 December 2006) was a Chilean general who ruled Chile from 1973 to 1990, first as the leader of the Military Junta of Chile from 1973 to 1981, being declared President of ...
's military coup in Chile. Many people in Sweden wanted the match to be cancelled, in protest of
the junta's violations of human rights, however others wanted
sport and politics to remain separated.
''
Chilekommittén'' mobilised protests against the match. The call for the manifestation was issued on July 30, 1975. The slogan of the protests was ''Stoppa matchen!'' ('Stop the match'). About 7,000 people took part in the protest. Hundreds of balloons, with names of political prisoners were released in the vicinity of the match venue, guarded by a police force of 1,300. Through Chilean sports commentators on site, news about the protests reached Chile. A special issue of ''
Chilebulletinen'' was produced for the protests, with 20,000 copies.
The then governing
Swedish Social Democratic Party didn't take part in the protests on September 20. A protest march was instead organized in Båstad by the
Swedish Social Democratic Youth League
The Swedish Social Democratic Youth League ( sv, Sveriges Socialdemokratiska Ungdomsförbund ; SSU) is a branch of the Swedish Social Democratic Party and the Swedish Trade Union Confederation in Sweden. The president has been Lisa Nåbo, since ...
on September 18, ending at the town square, where former prime minister
Tage Erlander
Tage Fritjof Erlander (; 13 June 1901 – 21 June 1985) was a Swedish politician who served as Prime Minister of Sweden from 1946 to 1969. He was the leader of the Swedish Social Democratic Party and led the government for an uninterrupted tenu ...
and Sweden's former ambassador to Chile
Harald Edelstam
Gustav Harald Edelstam (March 17, 1913 – April 16, 1989) was a Swedish diplomat. During World War II he earned the nickname ''Svarta nejlikan'' ("the Black Pimpernel," a reference to the Scarlet Pimpernel) for helping hundreds of Norwegian Jew ...
(who personally helped rescue over 1,200 political prisoners in Chile after the 1973 coup) addressed a crowd of some 3,000.
Olof Palme's government tried to stop the match, but on September 12 negotiations ended with a decision to play. During the game on September 20, which was guarded by 1,300 police, over 7,000 demonstrators gathered peacefully on the square. The match was played behind closed doors with no spectators present.
See also
*
1975 Nations Cup
References
External links
Davis Cup Official WebsiteDavis Cup at SVT's open archive (including the 1975 tournament)
{{1975 Commercial Union Assurance Grand Prix
Davis Cups by year
Davis Cup
Davis Cup
Davis Cup
Davis Cup
Davis Cup
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