Dale Houston (born 15 November 1961) is a former professional tennis player from Australia.

Dale Houston
Full nameDale Houston
Country (sports) Australia
Born (1961-11-15) 15 November 1961 (age 62)
Sydney, Australia
PlaysRight-handed
Singles
Career record2-3
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 280 (17 June 1985)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open3R (1984)
Doubles
Career record1-2
Career titles0
Highest rankingNo. 229 (24 June 1985)

Biography

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Houston was born in Sydney but played his junior tennis in Queensland.[1] In the early 1980s he took up a tennis scholarship to Wichita State University in Kansas. After graduating in June 1984 he competed for two years on the professional tour.[2]

At the 1984 Australian Open, just months after turning professional, Houston made it through to the third round, where he lost a competitive match to the defending champion Mats Wilander. Playing as a qualifier, Houston had straight set victories over Craig Miller and former Australian Open winner Mark Edmondson, which put him up against the Swedish second seed in the third round.[3][4] He managed to take Wilander to four sets, winning the second 6–2 and getting to a tiebreak in the third.[5] Wilander won it in the fourth and went on to win the tournament.[6]

Following his performances at the Australian Open, he gained entry to Grand Prix tournaments in Sydney and Melbourne, for a first round exit in each.[7] In Melbourne he also competed in the doubles with John Frawley and made it to the quarter-finals.

In 1985 his appearances were restricted to Challengers, although he made it to the second round of qualifying at Wimbledon and played doubles at a Brisbane Grand Prix tournament. Mid-year he reached his highest ranking, 280 in the world. His loss to Mark Kratzmann in the Australian Open qualifying round that year was his final professional match.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Tennis: Qld title to Masur". The Canberra Times. 3 December 1979. p. 16. Retrieved 12 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ^ "BIO". ATP World Tour. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Wildander Triumphs". The New York Times. 29 November 1984. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  4. ^ "Wilander survives scare". The Canberra Times. 30 November 1984. p. 1 (Sports). Retrieved 12 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. ^ "The Canberra Times". The Canberra Times. 2 December 1984. p. 27. Retrieved 12 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  6. ^ Pye, Steven (30 January 2015). "Remembering the 1984 Australian Open, a tournament played in a different era". The Guardian. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  7. ^ "Fitzgerald reaffirms his tennis reputation". The Canberra Times. 12 December 1984. p. 1 (Sports). Retrieved 12 May 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. ^ "ITF Tennis - Pro Circuit - Australian Open - 25 November - 08 December 1985". International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
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