Australia did not take the 1973 Davis Cup campaign lightly. The lads from Down Under had watched the trophy go to the United States for five years running, the longest Australian drought since the 1930s.
1973 promised to be different. While tennis went Open in 1968, the Davis Cup did not. The International Lawn Tennis Federation (ILTF) banned contract professionals from the competition, leaving a Murderer’s Row of Australians–Rod Laver, Ken Rosewall, John Newcombe, and more–on the sidelines. The ILTF finally came to its senses and dropped the exclusion in 1973. The Aussie stars were getting old, and they weren’t about to let this first opportunity slip by.
Captain Neale Fraser got his squad together well in advance of their opening Eastern Zone tie, a tilt hosted by Japan starting on April 20th. En route, the Australian stopped in Hong Kong for the National Hardcourt Championships. Laver and Rosewall were committed to pro events elsewhere, but Fraser’s group was still the class of the Hong Kong event. Newcombe was there, joined by veteran Mal Anderson, former Wimbledon quarter-finalist John Cooper, and doubles stalwart Geoff Masters.
Hong Kong was supposed to be a warmup–both a confidence-builder and an opportunity for Fraser to get a final look at his charges.
Instead, it turned into the Vijay Amritraj show. The 19-year-old Indian had Davis Cup aspirations of his own, and he was rapidly developing into his country’s best player. The year before, he had spent two weeks in Las Vegas working on his serve with none other than his idol, Richard González.
In the quarter-finals, Amritraj upset Anderson, the 1957 US National champion and a likely singles player for Fraser’s side. In the semis, as Cooper knocked out Newcombe in a five-setter, Amritraj beat Masters in a marathon of his own. Finally, on April 15th, Vijay went another five sets, taking advantage of eight net-cord winners to beat Cooper and complete his set of Australian Davis Cup scalps.
Amritraj’s title was worth $3,000, just short of his entire 1972 haul of $3,500.
The Aussies had reason to worry: Assuming they beat Japan, they would likely face Vijay and company in the Eastern Zone final. The tie would be hosted by India, in Amritraj’s hometown of Madras.
Fraser managed to put a positive spin on the Australian oh-fer. “I am not really upset by their losses,” he told The Age. “It’s probably a blessing in disguise. Firstly the boys may have tended to take the Indians too lightly, but now Mal has been beaten by Vijay, they realize it won’t be easy in India if we beat Japan.”
Then he called ahead to Tokyo. His boys were arriving soon, and he needed to make sure that practice courts were booked and ready.
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Elsewhere this week:
- Billie Jean King quickly recovered her form after a one-month layoff, but not enough to beat Margaret Court. In Quincy, Court added yet another title to her 1973 haul with a 6-2, 6-4, 59-minute victory over Billie Jean.
- On the rival USLTA circuit, Evonne Goolagong played some of the best tennis of her season, reaching the final in Miami Beach. She lost only five games in four matches. But it still wasn’t enough to topple Chris Evert, who beat Evonne for the fourth time in a row in the final.
- Ken Rosewall, the “old man” of the circuit, picked up his second title in a row with a straight-set win over Roger Taylor in Cleveland. His backhand passing shots, always his bread and butter, were in top form.
- Stan Smith continued to roll, winning in Brussels for his fourth consecutive title. Even sweeter, it was his third straight victory against Rod Laver. Laver was slowed by a back injury, and the American reeled off three sets in just 80 minutes.
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This post is part of my series about the 1973 season, Battles, Boycotts, and Breakouts. Keep up with the project by checking the TennisAbstract.com front page, which shows an up-to-date Table of Contents after I post each installment.
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