The amateur years
Australia · born Nottingham, England, 1921 · died 1986 · Australian junior champion 1940 · Australian champion 1947
All playersBack to the rankings
4
Australian junior titles, singles and doubles, 1937 to 1940
1947
Australian champion, beating John Bromwich
1
Seeding at Wimbledon in 1946
41-31
His record against Pancho Segura, 1948 pro tour
Dennis Robert Pails was born in Nottingham in 1921 and moved to Australia with his family the following year. He won the Australian boys' doubles in 1937, 1938 and 1940 and the boys' singles in 1940. The championships then stopped for the war; when they resumed he reached the Australian final in 1946, losing to John Bromwich in five sets, and beat Bromwich in five for the title in 1947. He played eight Davis Cup rubbers in 1946 and 1947, winning three, and was ranked No. 6 among amateurs in 1947. At the end of that year he turned professional and joined Jack Kramer's tour. Bud Collins ranked him the world No. 4 professional in 1948. He played the professional circuit on and off for many years and died in Sydney in 1986.
| Major singles titles | 1: Australian (1940) |
|---|---|
| Major doubles titles | 3: Australian (1937, 1938, 1940) |
| Junior doubles partners | Australian boys' doubles 1937 with John Bromwich, 1938 with William Sidwell, 1940 with William Edwards |
| Australian Championships | Champion 1947, beat Bromwich 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 8-6 after saving a match point. Runner-up 1946, lost to Bromwich 7-5, 3-6, 5-7, 6-3, 2-6 |
| Wimbledon singles | 1946: top seed, lost to Yvon Petra 5-7, 5-7, 8-6, 4-6 in the quarter-final. 1947: fourth seed, beat Bob Falkenburg 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2 in the quarter-final, lost to Jack Kramer 1-6, 6-3, 1-6, 0-6 in the semi-final |
| Wimbledon doubles | Final 1946 with Geoff Brown, lost to Tom Brown and Jack Kramer 4-6, 4-6, 2-6 |
| New South Wales Championships | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1945 | Men's singles | |
| Western Australian Championships | ||
| 1946 | Men's singles | |
| Australian Championships | ||
| 1947 | Men's singles | |
Leading grass titles only: the grass majors, tour-level grass events since 1968 and the leading grass championships before 1968. †single source; ‡ sources disagree. Roll of champions
The person behind the player.
Nottingham, 1921
Pails was born in Nottingham in March 1921, and the family moved to Australia in 1922, when he was one. He first won a national title in 1937, the Australian boys' doubles with John Bromwich, and ten years later the boy from Nottingham was champion of Australia.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon 1946 · Quarter-final
The top seed could not be found when he was due on Centre Court against Yvon Petra, and another match was put on in his place. Pails arrived half an hour late, explaining that he thought he had left his hotel in plenty of time and had come by train. The referee chose not to scratch him. Petra, serving five aces in three games of the first set, won in four.
Source: Chronicle (Levin), 3 July 1946Sydney 1947
Pails and John Bromwich had won the Australian boys' doubles together in 1937. A decade later they met in a second successive Australian final. Bromwich had won the first, in five sets. In 1947 Pails saved a match point and won 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, 8-6.
Source: WikipediaWimbledon 1947
Seeded fourth, he trailed the American Bob Falkenburg by two sets in the quarter-final, then lost only five more games: 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2. In the semi-final he met Jack Kramer, who beat him in four sets and went on to win the title.
Source: WikipediaOn tour, 1948 to 1950
On the 1948 professional tour Pails beat Pancho Segura 41 matches to 31, according to the promoter Jack Kramer, and Bud Collins later ranked him the world No. 4 professional that year. In November and December 1950 he won a four-man tour of New Zealand against Pancho Gonzales, Don Budge and Frank Parker.
Source: WikipediaFree membership: player news, the grass court Atlas, the rankings and the grass season calendar.
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