František Pála

František Pála
Country (sports) Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia
Residence Brussels, Belgium
Born (1944-03-28) 28 March 1944
Velke Popovice, Czechoslovakia
Plays Left-handed
Singles
Career record 57–108
Career titles 0
Grand Slam Singles results
French Open 3R (1970, 1972)
Wimbledon 3R (1972)
US Open 2R (1975)
Doubles
Career record 61–94
Career titles 1
Grand Slam Doubles results
French Open 2R (1970, 1971, 1972, 1975, 1976)
Wimbledon 2R (1971, 1972)
US Open 1R (1971, 1976)

František Pála (born 28 March 1944) is a former professional tennis player from the Czech Republic who competed for Czechoslovakia.[1]

Career

The Czechoslovak player took part in 15 Davis Cup ties for his national team, the first in 1966.[2] At a tie in Barcelona in 1972, Pala had a win over Manuel Orantes.[2] Earlier that year, in a tie against Sweden, Pala defeated Björn Borg, although the Swede was only 15 at the time.[2] In all he played 25 rubbers, of which he won 15, all but one of them in singles.[2] He later served as Czechoslovak Davis Cup captain.[3]

Pala, who won the Czechoslovakian Championships in 1973, played in the singles draw of 18 Grand Slam tournaments and made the third round three times, at the 1970 French Open, 1972 French Open and 1972 Wimbledon Championships.[4]

He had his best year on the tennis circuit in 1972, when he was a finalist at Monte Carlo and Madrid, losing both matches to Ilie Năstase.[5] As a doubles player he was able to reach three finals and won one of them, the 1977 BMW Open.[5]

Grand Prix/WCT career finals

Singles: 2 (0–2)

Outcome No. Year Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1. 1972 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Romania Ilie Năstase 1–6, 0–6, 3–6
Runner-up 2. 1972 Madrid, Spain Clay Romania Ilie Năstase 0–6, 0–6, 1–6

Doubles: 3 (1–2)

Outcome No. Year Tournament Surface Partner Opponents in the final Score in the final
Runner-up 1. 1972 Monte Carlo, Monaco Clay Czechoslovakia Jiří Hřebec France Patrice Beust
France Daniel Contet		 6–3, 1–6, 10–12, 2–6
Runner-up 2. 1974 Kitzbühel, Austria Clay Hungary Balázs Taróczy Colombia Iván Molina
Colombia Jairo Velasco		 6–2, 6–7, 4–6, 4–6
Winner 3. 1977 Munich, West Germany Clay Hungary Balázs Taróczy Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Nikola Špear
United States John Whitlinger		 6–3, 6–4

References

External links


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