1981 Davis Cup

The 1981 Davis Cup (also known as the 1981 Davis Cup by NEC for sponsorship purposes) was the 70th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 53 teams would enter the competition, 16 in the World Group, 23 in the Europe Zone, 8 in the Americas Zone, and 6 in the Eastern Zone.

1981 Davis Cup
Details
Duration6 March – 13 December
Edition70th
Teams51
Champion
Winning Nation United States
← 1980
1982 →

The United States defeated Argentina in the final, held at the Riverfront Coliseum in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States on 11–13 December, to win their 27th title overall.[1][2]

Format changes

The 1981 tournament marked the introduction of the 16-team World Group and a move to a tiered system including promotion and relegation. The original 16 teams to compete were chosen through the previous year's results, with teams that reached the Zonal semifinals chosen to compete in the inaugural bracket. Teams which lost in the World Group first round would now compete against each other in the World Group Relegation Play-off, with the four losers relegated to their respective Zonal competition the following year. The four winners of the Zonal competitions would now earn promotion into the following year's World Group to replace the relegated teams.[3][4]

The 16 qualifying teams for the first World Group were: from the 1980 Americas Zone, the North & Central America Zone finalists the United States and Mexico, and the South America Zone finalists Argentina and Brazil; the 1980 Eastern Zone semifinalists Australia, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea; and the semifinalists from the two Europe Zones Czechoslovakia, Great Britain, France, Italy, Romania, Sweden, Switzerland and West Germany.

This year also marked the first year of commercial sponsorship, when Japanese electronics company NEC became the tournament's first Title Sponsor, a partnership that lasted 21 years in total. NEC's partnership also enabled prize money to be given for the first time, with the World Group team competing for a total of US$1 million.[3][4][5]

World Group
Main article: 1981 Davis Cup World Group
Participating teams

Argentina
Australia
Brazil
Czechoslovakia

France
Great Britain
Italy
Japan

Mexico
New Zealand
Romania
South Korea

Sweden
Switzerland
United States
West Germany

Draw
  First Round
6–8 March		 Quarterfinals
9–12 July		 Semifinals
2–4 October		 Final
11–13 December
                                     
Munich, West Germany (indoor carpet)
  West Germany 2  
Timișoara, Romania (hard)
  Argentina 3  
    Argentina 3  
Timișoara, Romania (indoor hard)
    Romania 2  
  Romania 3
Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay)
  Brazil 2  
    Argentina 5  
Brighton, United Kingdom (indoor carpet)
    Great Britain 0  
  Great Britain 3  
Christchurch, New Zealand (carpet)
  Italy 2  
    Great Britain 4
Seoul, South Korea (clay)
    New Zealand 1  
  South Korea 0
Cincinnati, OH, United States (indoor carpet)
  New Zealand 5  
    Argentina 1
Yokohama, Japan (indoor carpet)
    United States 3
  Japan 0  
Båstad, Sweden (clay)
  Sweden 5  
    Sweden 1
Lyon, France (indoor carpet)
    Australia 3  
  France 2
Portland, OR, United States (indoor carpet)
  Australia 3  
    Australia 0
Zürich, Switzerland (indoor hard)
    United States 5  
   Switzerland 2  
New York City, United States (hard)
  Czechoslovakia 3  
    Czechoslovakia 1
Carlsbad, CA, United States (hard)
    United States 4  
  United States 3
  Mexico 2  

Final

United States vs. Argentina


United States
3		 Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, United States [2]
11–13 December 1981
Carpet (indoors)
Argentina
1
1 2 3 4 5
1
John McEnroe
Guillermo Vilas		 6
3		 6
2		 6
2		      
2
Roscoe Tanner
José Luis Clerc		 5
7 		3
6 		6
8 		     
3
Peter Fleming / John McEnroe
José Luis Clerc / Guillermo Vilas		 6
3		 4
6 		6
4		 4
6 		11
9		  
4
John McEnroe
José Luis Clerc		 7
5		 5
7 		6
3		 3
6 		6
3		  
5
Roscoe Tanner
Guillermo Vilas		 11
10		         not
completed

Relegation Play-offs
Further information: 1981 Davis Cup World Group § Relegation play-offs

Date: 2–4 October

Home teamScoreVisiting teamLocationSurface
 Brazil2–3 West GermanySão PauloClay
 Italy4–1 South KoreaSanremoClay
 France4–1 JapanParisClay
 Mexico3–2  SwitzerlandTijuanaClay

Americas Zone
Main article: 1981 Davis Cup Americas Zone
  Sub-Zonal Semifinals
9–11 January		 Sub-Zonal Finals
13–15 February		 Inter-Zonal Final
6–8 March
                           
  Bogotá, Colombia (clay)
    Colombia 3  
    Canada 2     Bogotá, Colombia (clay)
      Colombia 5  
  Caracas, Venezuela (hard)     Venezuela 0  
    Venezuela 4
    Caribbean/West Indies 1     Bogotá, Colombia (indoor clay)
      Colombia 2
  Lima, Peru (clay)       Chile 3
    Peru 1  
    Chile 4     Santiago, Chile (clay)
      Chile 5
  Guayaquil, Ecuador (clay)     Uruguay 0  
    Ecuador 2
    Uruguay 3  
  •  Chile are promoted to the World Group in 1982.

Eastern Zone
Main article: 1981 Davis Cup Eastern Zone
  Quarterfinals
9–11 January		 Semifinals
13–15 February		 Final
6–8 March
                           
 
    India  
   bye     Bangkok, Thailand (hard)
      India 5  
  Bangkok, Thailand (hard)     Thailand 0  
    Malaysia 0
    Thailand 5     Jakarta, Indonesia (clay)
      India 3
  Taipei, Taiwan (indoor hard)       Indonesia 2
    Indonesia 4  
    Chinese Taipei 1     Jakarta, Indonesia (clay)
      Indonesia 3
      Pakistan 0  
   bye
    Pakistan  
  •  India are promoted to the World Group in 1982.

Europe Zone
Main article: 1981 Davis Cup Europe Zone

Zone A
  First Round
8–10 May		 Quarterfinals
10–14 June		 Semifinals
9–11 July		 Final
25–27 September
                                     
  Spain  
Algiers, Algeria (clay)
 bye  
    Spain 5  
    Algeria 0  
  Zimbabwe
Lleida, Spain (clay)
  Algeria w/o  
    Spain 5  
    Monaco 0  
  Poland  
Monte Carlo, Monaco (clay)
 bye  
    Poland 2
Monte Carlo, Monaco (clay)
    Monaco 3  
  Morocco 1
Avilés, Spain (clay)
  Monaco 3  
    Spain 3
    Hungary 2
  Hungary  
Cairo, Egypt (clay)
 bye  
    Hungary 4
Cairo, Egypt (clay)
    Egypt 1  
  Egypt 5
Ramat HaSharon, Israel (hard)
  Greece 0  
    Hungary 3
    Israel 2  
  Yugoslavia  
Skopje, Yugoslavia (clay)
 bye  
    Yugoslavia 1
    Israel 4  
 bye
  Israel  
  •  Spain are promoted to the World Group in 1982.

Zone B
  First Round
8–10 May		 Quarterfinals
12–14 June		 Semifinals
9–11 July		 Final
25–27 September
                                     
  Austria  
Salzburg, Austria (clay)
 bye  
    Austria 3  
Aarhus, Denmark (clay)
    Denmark 2  
  Denmark 5
Pörtschach, Austria (clay)
  Portugal 0  
    Austria 0  
    Soviet Union 4  
  Soviet Union  
Jūrmala, Soviet Union (clay)
 bye  
    Soviet Union 4
    Belgium 1  
  Belgium w/o
Jūrmala, Soviet Union (clay)
  Turkey  
    Soviet Union 5
    Netherlands 0
  Finland  
Helsinki, Finland (clay)
 bye  
    Finland 3
Mondorf-les-Bains, Luxembourg (clay)
    Bulgaria 2  
  Luxembourg 0
Helsinki, Finland (clay)
  Bulgaria 5  
    Finland 0
    Netherlands 5  
  Netherlands  
Eindhoven, Netherlands (clay)
 bye  
    Netherlands 4
Oslo, Norway (clay)
    Ireland 1  
  Norway 2
  Ireland 3  

References
General
  • "World Group 1981". DavisCup.com. Retrieved 11 June 2020.
Specific
  1. Bud Collins (2010). The Bud Collins History of Tennis (2nd ed.). [New York]: New Chapter Press. pp. 495–496, 499. ISBN 978-0942257700.
  2. "United States v Argentina". daviscup.com.
  3. "ITF Events - Davis Cup". itftennis.com. International Tennis Federation. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  4. "Davis Cup History". daviscup.com. Archived from the original on 12 November 2019. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  5. Collett, Mike (2 March 1981). "The new-look 1981 Davis Cup tennis competition gets under..." London. United Press International. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
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