Stan Smith seals final Davis Cup Challenge Round victory for United States in 1971
On October 10, 1971, Stan Smith defeated Ion Tiriac 8-6, 6-3, 6-0, giving the United States a Davis Cup win over Romania. That tie was the final Davis Cup Challenge Round ever played. Heavy overnight rain had left the courts wet, and organizers used a helicopter and gasoline fires to help dry them.
Stan Smith, born in 1946 in Southern California, was once rejected as a Davis Cup ball boy because organizers deemed him clumsy. He later attended the University of South Carolina and began tour play in 1968, building a résumé that included wins over Arthur Ashe, Rod Laver and John Newcombe before his 1971 US Open title.
Ion Tiriac, born in 1939 in Transylvania, had been a table tennis prodigy and Romanian Olympic hockey player before focusing on tennis. He reached the 1968 Roland-Garros quarter-finals and won the 1970 Roland-Garros doubles title with Ilie Nastase.
The end of the Challenge Round may have affected how tennis nations approached Davis Cup qualification, potentially making future campaigns more demanding for challengers. American and Romanian supporters could have experienced the result as a moment of national sporting pride, while players and organizers may have seen the wet-court response as a reminder of weather-related logistical risks. For tennis audiences, the match could also symbolize a transition toward a different international team competition format.