# 1997 Davis Cup Americas Zone Group I

The Americas Zone was one of the three zones of the regional Davis Cup competition in 1997.
In the Americas Zone there were four different tiers, called groups, in which teams competed against each other to advance to the upper tier. Winners in Group I advanced to the World Group qualifying round, along with losing teams from the World Group first round. Teams who lost their respective ties competed in the relegation play-offs, with winning teams remaining in Group I, whereas teams who lost their play-offs were relegated to the Americas Zone Group II in 1998.

## Participating nations

* Argentina
* Bahamas
* Canada
* Chile
* Ecuador
* Venezuela

### Draw

| Second Round Play-offs | Second Round Play-offs | Second Round Play-offs | First Round Play-offs | First Round Play-offs | First Round Play-offs | First Round | First Round | First Round | Second Round | Second Round | Second Round |
| | | | | | | Venezuela | Venezuela | | | | |
| | | | Nassau, Bahamas (hard) | Nassau, Bahamas (hard) | Nassau, Bahamas (hard) | bye | bye | | Montreal, Canada (indoor hard) | Montreal, Canada (indoor hard) | Montreal, Canada (indoor hard) |
| | | | Venezuela | Venezuela | 2 | | | | Venezuela | Venezuela | 0 |
| | | | Bahamas | Bahamas | 3 | Montreal, Canada (indoor hard) | Montreal, Canada (indoor hard) | Montreal, Canada (indoor hard) | Canada | Canada | 5 |
| | | | | | | Bahamas | 1 | | | |
| Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay) | Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay) | Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay) | | | | Canada | Canada | | 4 | | |
| Venezuela | Venezuela | 1 | | | | | | | | | |
| Argentina | Argentina | 4 | | | | Santiago, Chile (clay) | Santiago, Chile (clay) | Santiago, Chile (clay) | | | |
| | | | | | | Chile | Chile | | 4 | | |
| | | | Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay) | Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay) | Buenos Aires, Argentina (clay) | Ecuador | Ecuador | 1 | Santiago, Chile (clay) | Santiago, Chile (clay) | Santiago, Chile (clay) |
| | | | Ecuador | Ecuador | 3 | | | | Chile | Chile | 3 |
| | | | Argentina | Argentina | 1 | | | | Argentina | Argentina | 2 |
| | | | | | | bye | bye | | | | |
| | | | | | | Argentina | Argentina | | | | |
* Venezuela relegated to Group II in 1998.
* Canada and Chile advance to World Group qualifying round.

## First round
### Canada vs. Bahamas

| Canada 4 | Jarry Park Stadium, Montreal, Canada 7–9 February 1997 Hard (indoors) | Jarry Park Stadium, Montreal, Canada 7–9 February 1997 Hard (indoors) | Bahamas 1 |
| 1 2 3 4 5 1 Daniel Nestor Roger Smith 6 1 6 1 6 2       2 Sébastien Lareau Mark Knowles 4 6 6 3 2 6 7 5 1 6   3 Grant Connell / Sébastien Lareau Mark Knowles / Roger Smith 6 2 6$^1$ 7$^7$ 6 4 6 4     4 Daniel Nestor Mark Knowles 3 6 7 5 6 4 6 2     5 Sébastien Lareau Roger Smith 6 2 4 6 6 2 ||||

### Chile vs. Ecuador

| Chile 4 | Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile 7–9 February 1997 Clay | Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile 7–9 February 1997 Clay | Ecuador 1 |
| 1 2 3 4 5 1 Gabriel Silberstein Nicolás Lapentti 6 2 4 6 1 6 6 3 6 3   2 Marcelo Ríos Luis Morejón 6 1 6 3 3 6 6 2     3 Óscar Bustos / Marcelo Ríos Pablo Campana / Nicolás Lapentti 6 4 4 6 0 6 3 6     4 Marcelo Ríos Nicolás Lapentti 7 5 6$^6$ 7$^8$ 6 3 6$^6$ 7$^8$ 8 6   5 Gabriel Silberstein Luis Morejón 7$^7$ 6$^4$ 6 2 ||||

## Second round
### Canada vs. Venezuela

| Canada 5 | Jarry Park Stadium, Montreal, Canada 4–6 April 1997 Hard (indoors) | Jarry Park Stadium, Montreal, Canada 4–6 April 1997 Hard (indoors) | Venezuela 0 |
| 1 2 3 4 5 1 Sébastien Lareau José de Armas 6 1 6 3 6 2       2 Daniel Nestor Jimy Szymanski 6 2 7$^7$ 6$^5$ 6 1       3 Grant Connell / Sébastien Lareau Shuon Madden / Jimy Szymanski 6 2 6 1 6 3       4 Sébastien Lareau Jimy Szymanski 6 3 7 5         5 Sébastien Leblanc José de Armas 2 6 7$^7$ 6$^2$ 6 0 ||||

### Chile vs. Argentina

| Chile 3 | Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile 4–6 April 1997 Clay | Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile 4–6 April 1997 Clay | Argentina 2 |
| 1 2 3 4 5 1 Marcelo Ríos Javier Frana 6 1 6 4 7$^7$ 6$^2$       2 Gabriel Silberstein Hernán Gumy 0 6 4 6 4 6       3 Marcelo Ríos / Gabriel Silberstein Javier Frana / Luis Lobo 3 6 7$^{10}$ 6$^8$ 4 6 6 3 6 2   4 Marcelo Ríos Hernán Gumy 6 4 7 5 6 4       5 Gabriel Silberstein Javier Frana 4 6 4 6 ||||

## First round relegation play-offs
### Bahamas vs. Venezuela

| Bahamas 3 | Beach Hotel, Nassau, Bahamas 11–13 July 1997 Hard | Beach Hotel, Nassau, Bahamas 11–13 July 1997 Hard | Venezuela 2 |
| 1 2 3 4 5 1 Roger Smith Nicolás Pereira 7$^7$ 6$^4$ 6 3 6 4       2 Mark Knowles Jimy Szymanski 3 6 6$^4$ 7$^7$ 2 6       3 Mark Knowles / Roger Smith Nicolás Pereira / Jimy Szymanski 6 3 6$^4$ 7$^7$ 7$^7$ 6$^5$ 7 5     4 Mark Knowles Nicolás Pereira 7 5 5 7 1 6 5 7     5 Roger Smith Jimy Szymanski 3 6 1 6 7$^7$ 6$^4$ 6 4 6 4 ||||

### Argentina vs. Ecuador

| Argentina 1 | Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina 11–14 July 1997 Clay | Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina 11–14 July 1997 Clay | Ecuador 3 |
| 1 2 3 4 5 1 Hernán Gumy Luis Morejón 1 6 4 6 7 5 5 7     2 Marcelo Charpentier Nicolás Lapentti 3 6 4 6 3 6       3 Pablo Albano / Luis Lobo Giorgio Carneade / Nicolás Lapentti 6 2 6 1 7$^7$ 6$^4$       4 Hernán Gumy Nicolás Lapentti 4 6 4 6 6 3 6 0 3 6   5 Marcelo Charpentier Luis Morejón           not played ||||

## Second round relegation play-offs
### Argentina vs. Venezuela

| Argentina 4 | Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina 19–21 September 1997 Clay | Buenos Aires Lawn Tennis Club, Buenos Aires, Argentina 19–21 September 1997 Clay | Venezuela 1 |
| 1 2 3 4 5 1 Hernán Gumy José de Armas 6 0 6 2 6 1       2 Lucas Arnold Ker Jimy Szymanski 6 4 6 3 7 5       3 Pablo Albano / Luis Lobo José de Armas / Jimy Szymanski 6 1 6 0 6 3       4 Luis Lobo Jimy Szymanski 2 6 2 6         5 Lucas Arnold Ker José de Armas 6 1 6 2 ||||