1956 Davis Cup

The 1956 Davis Cup was the 45th edition of the Davis Cup, the most important tournament between national teams in men's tennis. 24 teams entered the Europe Zone, 5 teams entered the America Zone, and 3 teams entered the Eastern Zone.

1956 Davis Cup

Details
Duration	22 March – 28 December
Edition	45th
Teams	33
Champion
Winning Nation	Australia
← 1955 1957 →

The United States defeated Mexico in the America Zone final, India defeated Japan in the Eastern Zone final, and Italy defeated Sweden in the Europe Zone final. In the Inter-Zonal Zone, the United States defeated Italy in the semifinal, and then defeated India in the final. In the Challenge Round the United States were defeated by defending champions Australia. The final was played at Memorial Drive in Adelaide, Australia on 26–28 December.[1][2][3]

America Zone

Draw

Quarterfinals 2–4 May

Semifinals 6–29 July

Final 3–5 August

United States

bye

Victoria, Canada (grass)

United States

4

Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago (clay)

Canada

1

Canada

5

Caribbean/West Indies

0

Rye, NY, United States (grass)

United States

4

Mexico

1

bye

Mexico

Mexico City, Mexico (clay)

Mexico

4

Brazil

1

bye

Brazil

Final

United States vs. Mexico

United States 4	Westchester Country Club, Rye, NY, United States [4] 3–5 August 1956 Grass		Mexico 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Vic Seixas Mario Llamas 6 4 6 2 6 4       2 Ham Richardson Francisco Contreras 6 3 6 4 6 4       3 Sam Giammalva / Barry MacKay Francisco Contreras / Mario Llamas 13 11 4 6 6 1 6 8 3 6   4 Ham Richardson Mario Llamas 6 3 6 3 6 1       5 Sam Giammalva Esteban Reyes Jr. 6 4 6 1 6 3

Eastern Zone

Draw

	Semifinals 22–24 March					Final 18–20 May
		Japan
		bye				Tokyo, Japan
							Japan	2
	Colombo, Ceylon (clay)						India	3
		Ceylon	0
		India	5

Final

Japan vs. India

Japan 2	Tokyo, Japan [5] 18–20 May 1956		India 3
1 2 3 4 5 1 Atsushi Miyagi Ramanathan Krishnan 3 6 0 6 3 6       2 Kosei Kamo Naresh Kumar 6 2 4 6 2 6 6 4 6 0   3 Kosei Kamo / Atsushi Miyagi Ramanathan Krishnan / Naresh Kumar 4 6 3 6 1 6       4 Atsushi Miyagi Naresh Kumar 6 4 6 1 6 1       5 Kosei Kamo Ramanathan Krishnan 8 6 3 6 4 6 5 7

Europe Zone

Draw

First Round 27 April–1 May

Second Round 10–15 May

Quarterfinals 31 May-4 June

Semifinals 15–17 July

Final 20–22 July

Italy

Warsaw, Poland

bye

Italy

5

Poland

3

Poland

0

Bologna, Italy (clay)

Austria

2

Italy

4

Denmark

Prague, Czechoslovakia (clay)

Denmark

1

bye

Denmark

4

Czechoslovakia

5

Czechoslovakia

1

Paris, France (clay)

Pakistan

0

Italy

3

France

Lausanne, Switzerland

France

2

bye

France

5

Luxembourg

2

Switzerland

0

Duisburg, West Germany (clay)

Switzerland

3

France

4

West Germany

Dublin, Ireland

West Germany

1

bye

West Germany

4

Ireland

4

Ireland

1

Båstad, Sweden (clay)

Finland

1

Italy

5

Turkey

0

Scheveningen, Netherlands (clay)

Sweden

0

Netherlands

5

Netherlands

0

bye

Chile

5

Bristol, England (grass)

Chile

Chile

2

Yugoslavia

4

Belgrade, Yugoslavia (clay)

Great Britain

3

Egypt

1

Yugoslavia

0

bye

Great Britain

5

Solna, Sweden (clay)

Great Britain

Great Britain

1

Monaco

2

Barcelona, Spain (clay)

Sweden

4

Spain

3

Spain

1

bye

Belgium

4

Brussels, Belgium (clay)

Belgium

Belgium

1

Norway

4

Oslo, Norway (clay)

Sweden

4

Israel

1

Norway

0

bye

Sweden

5

Sweden

Final

Sweden vs. Italy

Sweden 0	Båstad Tennis Stadium, Båstad, Sweden [6] 20–22 July 1956 Clay		Italy 5
1 2 3 4 5 1 Sven Davidson Nicola Pietrangeli 4 6 6 3 1 6 4 6     2 Ulf Schmidt Giuseppe Merlo 7 5 2 6 5 7 1 6     3 Sven Davidson / Torsten Johansson Nicola Pietrangeli / Orlando Sirola 4 6 7 5 2 6 3 6     4 Torsten Johansson Orlando Sirola 4 6 6 1 2 6 1 6     5 Ulf Schmidt Nicola Pietrangeli 5 7 3 6 6 1 3 6

Inter-Zonal Zone

Draw

	Semifinals 29 September–1 October					Final 14–16 December
	EAS	India
		bye				Perth, Australia (grass)
						EAS	India	1
	Forest Hills, NY, United States (grass)					AME	United States	4
	EUR	Italy	1
	AME	United States	4

Semifinals

United States vs. Italy

United States 4	West Side Tennis Club, Forest Hills, NY, United States [7] 29 September–1 October 1956 Grass		Italy 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Ham Richardson Nicola Pietrangeli 6 3 6 2 6 3       2 Vic Seixas Orlando Sirola 6 3 11 9 6 4       3 Ham Richardson / Vic Seixas Nicola Pietrangeli / Orlando Sirola 1 6 6 3 6 4 6 2     4 Michael Green Nicola Pietrangeli 6 3 4 6 3 6 4 6     5 Sam Giammalva Orlando Sirola 12 10 6 3 6 2

United States vs. India

United States 4	Royal King's Park, Perth, Australia [8] 14–16 December 1956 Grass		India 1
1 2 3 4 5 1 Herbie Flam Ramanathan Krishnan 7 5 4 6 10 8 2 6 6 4   2 Vic Seixas Naresh Kumar 6 4 6 1 6 2       3 Sam Giammalva / Vic Seixas Ramanathan Krishnan / Naresh Kumar 6 2 3 6 6 4 6 4     4 Michael Green Ramanathan Krishnan 5 7 4 6 4 6       5 Sam Giammalva Naresh Kumar 6 3 6 4 6 2

Challenge Round

Australia vs. United States

Australia 5	Memorial Drive, Adelaide, Australia [3] 26–28 December 1956 Grass		United States 0
1 2 3 4 5 1 Lew Hoad Herbie Flam 6 2 6 3 6 3       2 Ken Rosewall Vic Seixas 6 1 6 4 4 6 6 1     3 Lew Hoad / Ken Rosewall Sam Giammalva / Vic Seixas 1 6 6 1 7 5 6 4     4 Ken Rosewall Sam Giammalva 4 6 6 1 8 6 7 5     5 Lew Hoad Vic Seixas 6 2 7 5 6 3

References

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. Max Robertson (1974). The Encyclopedia of Tennis. London: Allen & Unwin. p. 384. ISBN 0047960426.
3. "Australia v United States". daviscup.com.
4. "United States v Mexico". daviscup.com.
5. "Japan v India". daviscup.com.
6. "Sweden v Italy". daviscup.com.
7. "United States v Italy". daviscup.com.
8. "United States v India". daviscup.com.

External links

• Davis Cup official website