International Pro Championship of Britain

The International Pro Championship of Britain (also known as the Southport Dunlop Cup for sponsorship purposes) was a professional men's tennis tournament held at Victoria Park in Southport, England between 1935 and 1939. It was open to professional players only, amateurs were not allowed to compete. The tournament was held on outdoor En-tout-cas, "all-weather" artificial clay and was played in July, except for the 1939 edition, which was held in August. Hans Nüsslein won four consecutive titles from 1936 through 1939.^[1][2]

International Pro Championships of Britain
Tournament information
Founded	1935
Abolished	1939
Location	Southport England
Venue	Victoria Park
Surface	Clay

Past finals

Singles

Year	Date	Champions	Runners-up	Score
1935	10–13 July	Ellsworth Vines	Bill Tilden	6–1, 6–8, 4–6, 6–2, 6–2 ^[3]
1936	7–11 July	Hans Nüsslein	Henri Cochet	(Round Robin) ^[4]
1937	13–17 July	Hans Nüsslein	Robert Ramillon	6–4, 6–3, 2–6, 6–4 ^[5]
1938	9–16 July	Hans Nüsslein	Bill Tilden	(Round Robin) ^[6]
1939	4–7 August	Hans Nüsslein	Bill Tilden	6–2, 7–5, 6–4 ^[7]

Doubles

Year	Champions	Runners-up	Score
1935	Bill Tilden   Ellsworth Vines	Martin Plaa   Robert Ramillon	7–5, 6–8, 5–7, 6–1, 6–3
1936	Henri Cochet   Robert Ramillon	Lester Stoefen   Bill Tilden	(Round Robin)
1937	Lester Stoefen   Bill Tilden	Martin Plaa   Robert Ramillon	8–6, 17–15, 8–6
1939	Don Budge   Ellsworth Vines	Lester Stoefen   Bill Tilden	6–2, 7–9, 7–5, 8–6

Draws

1935

	Quarterfinals								Semifinals								Final
									Ellsworth Vines	5	2	6	6	6
									Robert Ramillon	7	6	4	2	3
																	Ellsworth Vines	6	6	4	6	6
																	Bill Tilden	1	8	6	2	2
	Hans Nüsslein	6	6	6
	Albert Burke	3	4	2
									Hans Nüsslein	4	4	1
									Bill Tilden	6	6	6
	Martin Plaa	5	0	0
	Bill Tilden	7	6	6

1936

Round robin		W–L	Hans Nüsslein	Henri Cochet	Martin Plaa	Robert Ramillon
1.	Hans Nüsslein	3–0		6–3, 6–2, 6–2	6–1, 6–3, 6–2	6–3, 6–2, 6–4
2.	Henri Cochet	2–1	3–6, 2–6, 3–6		6–3, 6–2, 6–3	6–3, 6–1, 6–2
3.	Martin Plaa	1–2	1–6, 3–6, 2–6	3–6, 2–6, 3–6		2–6, 3–6, 6–3, 6–2, 6–3
4.	Robert Ramillon	0–3	3–6, 2–6, 4–6	3–6, 1–6, 2–6	6–2, 6–3, 3–6, 2–6, 3–6

1938

Round robin		W–L	Hans Nüsslein	Bill Tilden	Robert Ramillon	Martin Plaa	Dan Maskell	Edmund Burke
1.	Hans Nüsslein	5–0		6–1, 6–1, 5–7, 6–1	7–5, 6–3, 6–2	6–1, 6–1, 7–5	6–4, 6–2, 6–2	6–2, 6–4, 6–0
2.	Bill Tilden	4–1	1–6, 1–6, 7–5, 1–6		8–6, 6–0, 4–6, 6–2	6–2, 6–3, 6–0	6–3, 6–4, 8–6	6–4, 6–4, 6–3
3.	Robert Ramillon	3–2	5–7, 3–6, 2–6	6–8, 0–6, 6–4, 2–6		6–3, 7–5, 6–0	6–1, 6–3, 7–5	6–4, 6–4, 6–3
4.	Martin Plaa	2–3	1–6, 1–6, 5–7	2–6, 3–6, 0–6	3–6, 5–7, 0–6		6–4, 6–3, 6–2	6–3, 6–4, 6–3
5.	Dan Maskell	1–4	4–6, 2–6, 2–6	3–6, 4–6, 6–8	1–6, 3–6, 5–7	4–6, 3–6, 2–6		6–1, 6–1, 6–2
6.	Edmund Burke	0–5	4–6, 4–6, 3–6	2–6, 1–6, 1–6	4–6, 4–6, 3–6	3–6, 4–6, 3–6	1–6, 1–6, 2–6

See also

• Major professional tennis tournaments before the Open Era

References

1. "Nusslein's victory". Sunderland Daily Echo and Shipping Gazette. British Newspaper Archive. 11 July 1936. p. 10.
2. "Nusslein retains title". Nottingham Evening Post. British Newspaper Archive. 8 August 1939. p. 11.
3. "Between The Lines - Forgotten Victories: History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VI: Vines's Second Year: 1935". Tennis Server. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
4. "Between The Lines - History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VII: Awaiting Perry, 1936". Tennis Server. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
5. "Between The Lines - History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter VIII: Perry and Vines, 1937". Tennis Server. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
6. "Between The Lines - History of the Pro Tennis Wars, Chapter IX: Readying for Budge, 1938". Tennis Server. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
7. "Between The Lines - Forgotten Victories: History of the Pro Tennis Wars 1926-1945, Chapter X: Budge's Great Pro Year, 1939". Tennis Server. Retrieved 7 August 2011.