The 1974 Davis Cup was the 63rd edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 57 teams would enter the competition, 33 in the Europe Zone, 12 in the Americas Zone, and 12 in the Eastern Zone. Nigeria made its first appearance in the tournament.[citation needed]
South Africa defeated Colombia in the Americas Inter-Zonal final, India defeated Australia in the Eastern Zone final, and Italy and the Soviet Union were the winners of the two Europe Zones, defeating Romania and Czechoslovakia respectively. In the Inter-Zonal Zone, South Africa defeated Italy and India defeated the Soviet Union in the semifinals.
India refused to travel to South Africa for the final due to their government's opposition to South Africa's apartheid policies: therefore, the final was scratched and South Africa were awarded the Davis Cup.[1][2] South Africa became only the fifth nation to win the Davis Cup, breaking the dominance of the United States, Great Britain, France and Australia teams which had won every tournament before this year.[3]
The final between South Africa and India was scheduled to be completed by 1 December 1974, but India refused to travel to South Africa due to their government's opposition to South Africa's apartheid policies: therefore, the final was scratched and South Africa were awarded the Davis Cup.[1][2]
Notes
^The tie between South Africa and Argentina was scratched and South Africa advanced to the South America Zone Final after Argentina refused to travel to South Africa due to their government's opposition to South Africa's apartheid policies.
^The South Africa vs. Italy tie was originally scheduled to be played from 22 September, but was postponed due to disagreements over the venue: Italy originally refused to travel to South Africa, while South Africa rejected Italy's request to play the match in Rome.[11] The match eventually went ahead in South Africa on 3 October.