Pundits have always said that Davis Cup isn’t about the chalk: the pressure of the international event is such that you can throw the usual rankings, forecasts, and odds out the window. Anyone, regardless of stature, can step up and deliver a big win for his country.
When Australia met Czechoslovakia in the 1973 Davis Cup semi-finals, both captains took a chance. Aussie honcho Neale Fraser picked the in-form Rod Laver over the steadier Ken Rosewall–admittedly, a choice most captains would have killed to make. Czechoslovakia’s leader, Antonin Bolardt, took a bigger gamble, leaving hard-hitting veteran Vladimír Zedník on the bench in favor of Jiří Hřebec, a 23-year-old who had won just eight career matches on grass.
Rosewall understood Fraser’s decision. He acknowledged that Laver and John Newcombe were the “form horses,” and Rocket had beaten him just a few days previously. By choosing Hřebec, Bolardt went all-in on recent results: The youngster had beaten his countryman, Wimbledon champion Jan Kodeš, in a five-set match just before departing for Australia.
On November 16th, both captains looked like geniuses. Laver straight-setted Kodeš 6-3, 7-5, 7-5, in a match defined by stellar serving, questionable line calls, and bad bounces on the Kooyong turf. Both players frequently appealed to the umpire, and several points were replayed. Kodeš seemed to attribute the outcome to poor officiating, but in truth, Laver was in control of every aspect of the match. “I haven’t served so well in years,” said the Rocket.
Fraser was surprised to see Hřebec’s name on the lineup card. “I immediately reckoned that was two rubbers to Australia,” he said. The press box was even more baffled, as reporters couldn’t agree on the pronunciation of his name. It was “Yearie Schebetz,” clarified Rod Humphries of the Sydney Morning Herald.
Three of the biggest servers in the game–Laver, Newcombe, and Zedník–were in the stadium. Yet Hřebec turned in the day’s star performance from the line. He overpowered an inconsistent Newk to win the first set, 6-4, and held on in the second through 16 games before the Australian took it, 10-8.
One-set all, packed house, Davis Cup pressure: This was where experience should have told. Instead, the youngster kept cool and relied on the support of his teammates. “Whenever Newk got close,” said Fraser, “Hřebec would pull out a tremendous shot.” Often it was an unreturnable serve: He tallied 14 aces in the match. Newcombe couldn’t turn the tide, and the unheralded Czech finished the job, 6-4, 7-5.
The tie was suddenly a whole lot more complicated, and both captains would have restless nights. Should the visitors ride Hřebec’s form in the doubles and leave Zedník on the bench? Should Fraser bring in Rosewall in place of a fatigued Laver or an unsteady Newk? The semi-final was supposed to be an Aussie rout, but after the first day of play, it was clear that for either captain, one bad decision could be the end of his nation’s Davis Cup hopes.
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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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