October 10, 1971: The day Stan Smith and the United States won the last ever Davis Cup to use the “Challenge Round”
Every day, Tennis Majors looks back to the one of the biggest moments in tennis history. On this day in 1971, Stan Smith beat Ion Tiriac in straight sets to win the last Davis Cup "Challenge Round" in tennis history for the American team
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On this day, October 10 in 1971, Stan Smith defeated Ion Tiriac (8-6, 6-3, 6-0) to seal the victory of the United States over Romania in the last ever Challenge Round in the history of the Davis Cup. Heavy rains had fallen on Saturday night, and the officials had spared no effort to dry the courts: they went as far as using a helicopter and setting gasoline on fire in order to ensure the courts were dried.
Stan Smith was born in 1946 in South California. As a kid, he went to get a job as a ball boy for the Davis Cup, but was turned down because the organisers thought he was too clumsy. Smith…
