# 1979 Nations Cup (tennis)

The 1979 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 third edition of the World Team Cup and was part of the 1979 Grand Prix circuit. It took place at the Rochusclub in Düsseldorf in Germany from 7 May through 14 May 1979. Total prize money was $250,000 and in total 44,500 people attended the event. Spain were the defending champions but did not compete that year. Australia defeated Italy in the final, which was delayed by one day due to rain, to win the title for the first time.
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.

## Round robin
### Section A
#### Standings

| Pos. | Country | Points | Matches | Sets |
| 1 | Italy | 3–0 | 7–1 | 14–5 |
| 2 | Argentina | 2–1 | 5–4 | 12–9 |
| 3 | Spain | 1–2 | 3–6 | 8–12 |
| 4 | Great Britain | 0–3 | 2–6 | 5–13 |

#### Italy vs. Spain

| Italy 3 | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Spain 0 |
| 1 2 3 1 Adriano Panatta Manuel Orantes 7 6 6 0     2 Paolo Bertolucci José Higueras 6 3 6 4     3 Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta José Higueras / Manuel Orantes 7 5 6 2 ||||

#### Argentina vs. Great Britain

| Argentina 2 | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Great Britain 1 |
| 1 2 3 1 Ricardo Cano John Lloyd 6 4 7 5     2 José Luis Clerc Buster Mottram 6 3 7 5     3 Ricardo Cano / José Luis Clerc Mark Cox / John Lloyd 2 6 2 6 ||||

#### Spain vs. Great Britain

| Spain 2 | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Great Britain 1 |
| 1 2 3 1 José Higueras John Lloyd 6 2 6 4     2 Manuel Orantes Buster Mottram 5 7 6 1 1 6   3 José Higueras / Manuel Orantes John Lloyd / Buster Mottram 6 4 6 3 ||||

#### Italy vs. Argentina

| Italy 2 | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Argentina 1 |
| 1 2 3 1 Adriano Panatta Ricardo Cano 4 6 6 3 6 1   2 Corrado Barazzutti José Luis Clerc 6 7 0 6     3 Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta Ricardo Cano / José Luis Clerc 6 4 6 7 6 3 ||||

#### Italy vs. Great Britain

| Italy 2 | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Great Britain 0 |
| 1 2 3 1 Paolo Bertolucci John Lloyd 6 1 6 4     2 Corrado Barazzutti Buster Mottram 2 6 7 5 6 2   3 ||||

#### Argentina vs. Spain

| Argentina 2 | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Spain 1 |
| 1 2 3 1 Ricardo Cano José Higueras 2 6 2 6     2 José Luis Clerc Manuel Orantes 6 4 4 6 6 3   3 Ricardo Cano / José Luis Clerc José Higueras / Manuel Orantes 6 2 6 2 ||||

### Section B
#### Standings

| Pos. | Country | Points | Matches | Sets |
| 1 | Australia | 3–0 | 7–2 | 15–9 |
| 2 | United States | 2–1 | 6–3 | 14–8 |
| 3 | Germany | 1–2 | 3–6 | 8–13 |
| 4 | Mexico | 0–3 | 2–7 | 9–16 |

#### Australia vs. Germany

| Australia 2 | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Germany 1 |
| 1 2 3 1 Kim Warwick Rolf Gehring 2 6 2 6     2 John Alexander Uli Pinner 6 1 6 3     3 John Alexander / Phil Dent Uli Pinner / Werner Zirngibl 6 2 1 6 6 2 ||||

#### USA vs. Mexico

| United States 3 | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Mexico 0 |
| 1 2 3 1 Eddie Dibbs Marcello Lara 4 6 6 2 6 3   2 Harold Solomon Raúl Ramírez 7 5 6 0     3 Arthur Ashe / Stan Smith Marcello Lara / Raúl Ramírez 3 6 6 4 7 5 ||||

#### Australia vs. USA

| Australia 3 | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | United States 0 |
| 1 2 3 1 Kim Warwick Eddie Dibbs 6 2 6 2     2 John Alexander Arthur Ashe 4 6 6 3 6 2   3 John Alexander / Phil Dent Arthur Ashe / Stan Smith 4 6 7 6 7 6 ||||

#### Germany vs. Mexico

| Germany 2 | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Mexico 1 |
| 1 2 3 1 Uli Pinner Raúl Ramírez 7 5 4 6 7 5   2 Rolf Gehring Emilio Montano 7 6 6 3     3 Rolf Gehring / Werner Zirngibl Emilio Montano / Raúl Ramírez 6 4 4 6 0 6 ||||

#### USA vs. Germany

| United States 3 | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Germany 0 |
| 1 2 3 1 Eddie Dibbs Rolf Gehring 6 3 6 2     2 Harold Solomon Uli Pinner 7 6 6 4     3 Arthur Ashe / Stan Smith Andreas Maurer / Werner Zirngibl 6 0 6 3 ||||

#### Australia vs. Mexico

| Australia 2 | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Mexico 1 |
| 1 2 3 1 John Alexander Raúl Ramírez 6 3 1 6 7 6   2 Phil Dent Marcello Lara 6 3 4 6 6 4   3 John Alexander / Phil Dent Marcello Lara / Raúl Ramírez 3 6 6 4 6 7 ||||

## Semifinal
### Australia vs. Argentina

| Australia 2 | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Argentina 1 |
| 1 2 3 1 Kevin Warwick Ricardo Cano 1 6 3 6     2 John Alexander José Luis Clerc 4 6 7 6 7 5   3 John Alexander / Phil Dent Ricardo Cano / José Luis Clerc 6 0 6 0 ||||

### Italy vs. USA

| Italy 3 | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany May 1979 Clay | United States 0 |
| 1 2 3 1 Adriano Panatta Eddie Dibbs 6 3 6 0     2 Corrado Barazzutti Arthur Ashe 6 2 6 2     3 Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta Arthur Ashe / Stan Smith 6 4 6 4 ||||

## Final
### Australia vs. Italy

| Australia 2 | Düsseldorf, Germany 14 May 1979 Clay | Düsseldorf, Germany 14 May 1979 Clay | Italy 1 |
| 1 2 3 1 John Alexander Corrado Barazzutti 6 2 6 0     2 Phil Dent Adriano Panatta 3 6 3 6     3 John Alexander / Phil Dent Paolo Bertolucci / Adriano Panatta 6 3 7 6 ||||