1978 Colgate-Palmolive Masters – Singles

Singles
Singles
1978 Colgate-Palmolive Masters
Champion	John McEnroe
Runner-up	Arthur Ashe
Score	6–7(5–7), 6–3, 7–5
Draw	8

John McEnroe defeated Arthur Ashe in the final, 6–7^(5–7), 6–3, 7–5 to win the singles tennis title at the 1978 Colgate-Palmolive Masters.^[1] McEnroe saved two championships points, at 4–5 in the third set, en route to his first year-end championships title.^[2]

Jimmy Connors was the defending champion, but lost in the round-robin.

Draw

Key

Q = Qualifier
WC = Wild card
LL = Lucky loser
Alt = Alternate
ITF = ITF entry
PR = Protected ranking
SR = Special ranking
SE = Special exempt
JE = Junior exempt
JR = Junior Accelerator Programme entrant
CO = College Accelerator Programme entrant
NG = Next Gen Accelerator Program entrant
w/o = Walkover
r = Retired
d = Defaulted

Finals

Semifinals					Final

	Arthur Ashe	7	3	6

	Brian Gottfried	5	6	3
						Arthur Ashe	7⁷	3	5

						John McEnroe	6⁵	6	7
	John McEnroe	6	6

	Eddie Dibbs	1	4

Group A

	McEnroe	Ashe	Connors	Solomon	RR W–L	Set W–L	Game W–L	Standings
John McEnroe		6–3, 6–1	7–5, 3–0, r	6–3, 6–2	3–0	5–0	34–14	1
Arthur Ashe	3–6, 1–6		–	6–1, 6–4	1–1	2–2	16–17	2
Jimmy Connors	5–7, 0–3, r	–		6–1, 6–2	1–1	2–1	17–13	3
Harold Solomon	3–6, 2–6	1–6, 4–6	1–6, 2–6		0–3	0–6	13–36	4

Standings are determined by: 1. number of wins; 2. number of matches; 3. in two-players-ties, head-to-head records; 4. in three-players-ties, percentage of sets won, or of games won; 5. steering-committee decision.

Group B

	Gottfried	Ramírez	Barazzutti	Dibbs	RR W–L	Set W–L	Game W–L	Standings
Brian Gottfried		6–4, 6–1	7–6, 6–4	6–3, 6–3	3–0	6–0	37–21	1
Raúl Ramírez	4–6, 1–6		3–6, 6–3, 6–4	0–6, 1–6	1–2	2–5	21–37	3
Corrado Barazzutti	6–7, 4–6	6–3, 3–6, 4–6		4–6, 4–6	0–3	1–6	35–40	4
Eddie Dibbs	3–6, 3–6	6–0, 6–1	6–4, 6–4		2–1	4–2	30–21	2