Pat Cash

Pat Cash

Pat Cash at the 2015 Australian Open
Country (sports)  Australia
Residence London, United Kingdom
Born (1965-05-27) 27 May 1965
Melbourne, Australia
Height 183 cm (6 ft 0 in)[1]
Turned pro 1982
Retired 1997 (periods of activity in 1999 and 2006)
Plays Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Prize money US$ 1,950,345
Singles
Career record 243–148 (Grand Slam, ATP Tour, Grand Prix and WCT level, and Davis Cup)
Career titles 6
Highest ranking No. 4 (9 May 1988)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open F (1987, 1988)
French Open 4R (1988)
Wimbledon W (1987)
US Open SF (1984)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals RR (1987)
WCT Finals QF (1988)
Olympic Games 1R (1984, demonstration event)
Doubles
Career record 174–110 (Grand Slam, ATP Tour, Grand Prix and WCT level, and Davis Cup)
Career titles 12
Highest ranking No. 6 (13 August 1984)
Team competitions
Davis Cup W (1983, 1986)

Patrick Hart "Pat" Cash (born 27 May 1965) is a retired Australian professional tennis player who won the Men's Singles title at Wimbledon in 1987. He also reached the Australian Open final in 1987 and 1988, won 6 singles titles and reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 4 in May 1988.

Early career

The son of Patrick Cash, Sr., an Australian rules football player for Hawthorn, Cash first came to the tennis world's attention as a junior player in the early 1980s. He was awarded a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport. He was ranked the top junior player in the world in 1981, and in 1982 he won the junior titles at both Wimbledon and the US Open. He turned professional in 1982 and won his first top-level singles title that year in Melbourne.

Cash established a reputation on the tour as a hard-fighting serve-and-volleyer and for wearing his trademark black-and-white checked headband and his cross earring.

In 1983, Cash became the youngest player to play in a Davis Cup final. He won the decisive singles rubber against Joakim Nyström as Australia defeated Sweden 3–2 to claim the cup.

In 1984, Cash reached the men's singles semi-finals at both Wimbledon and the US Open. He lost in three sets in the Wimbledon semi-finals to John McEnroe and was defeated in the semi-finals at the US Open by Ivan Lendl, who won their match in a fifth set tiebreaker. This day is regarded as one of the greatest days in US Open history because it featured the three set thriller women's final Chris Evert vs Martina Navratilova and a John McEnroe vs Jimmy Connors five set marathon - creating the day now known as 'Super Saturday'.

Cash was the runner-up in the Men's Doubles competition at Wimbledon in both 1984 with McNamee and 1985 with Fitzgerald.

In 1986, he helped Australia regain the Davis Cup with a 3–2 victory over Sweden. Cash again won the decisive singles rubber, recovering from two sets down against Mikael Pernfors. Just prior to Wimbledon in 1986 Cash had an emergency appendix operation. He reached the quarter finals of the competition, and during the championship he started the now common tradition of throwing wristbands and headbands into the crowd.

In 1987, Cash reached his first Grand Slam singles final at the Australian Open, where he lost in five sets to Stefan Edberg. This was the last Australian Open played at Kooyong on a grass court.

Wimbledon victory

Pat Cash, Paraguay stamp

The crowning moment of Cash's career came at Wimbledon in 1987. Having already beaten Marcel Freeman, Paul McNamee, Michiel Schapers, Guy Forget, Mats Wilander in the quarter-finals and Jimmy Connors in the semi-finals, Cash defeated the World Number 1, Ivan Lendl, in the final. Cash sealed the victory by climbing into the stands and up to the player's box at Centre Court, where he celebrated with his family, girlfriend, and coach, Ian Barclay. This started a Wimbledon tradition that has been followed by many other champions at Wimbledon and other Grand Slam tournaments since. He only lost one set during the entire tournament.[2]

Later career and retirement

In 1988, Cash reached the Australian Open final for the second consecutive year and faced the Swede, Mats Wilander. It was the first men's singles final played at the new Melbourne Park venue, and Wilander won in a four-and-a-half-hour encounter, taking the fifth set 8–6. The first Grand Slam final in history to be playing indoors after rain delays forced the closing of the roof mid way through the match.

In April 1989, Cash ruptured his Achilles tendon at the Japan Open and was out of action until early 1990.

Cash played in his third Davis Cup final in 1990. This time, Australia lost 2–3 to the United States.

Cash continued to play on the circuit on-and-off through the mid-1990s. A series of back to back injuries to his Achilles tendon, knees, and back prevented him from recapturing his best form after winning Wimbledon in 1987. He won his last top-level singles title in 1990 in Hong Kong. His last doubles title came in 1996 at Pinehurst with Rafter.

For most of his career, Cash was coached by Melbourne born tennis coach, Ian Barclay.

Since his retirement from the tour, Cash has resided mainly in London. He is the host of CNN's tennis-focused magazine show Open Court,[3] and has also worked as a TV color commentator, primarily for the BBC. He has coached top players including Greg Rusedski and Mark Philippoussis. Cash opened a tennis academy on the Gold Coast of Australia and has coached numerous top ranked Australian juniors. He is opening academies in Ko Sumui, Thailand and in the Caribbean St Vincent, St Lucia and Dominican Republic as well.

Cash continues to be a draw card on both the ATP and Champions Cup legends tours having won the Hall of Fame event in Newport Rhode Island in 2008 and 2009.

Pat has won the over-45's Wimbledon doubles title with fellow Aussie Mark Woodforde in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. Pat has now collected the junior, tour and legends Wimbledon titles. To date, he remains the only person to have done so. In November 2014, he played in the inaugural Champions Tennis League in India.

Cash's main passion away from tennis and his family is playing the guitar. He took to the stage with INXS at his Australian Tennis Hall of Fame induction at the 2003 Australian Open and has played with his own band at various events and festivals.

Cash was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2005.[4]

Personal life

In his early twenties, Cash had two children with his then-girlfriend, the Norwegian model Anne-Britt Kristiansen. They have a son, Daniel (born 27 May 1986) and a daughter Mia (born 1988). From 1990 through 2002 Cash was married to Brazilian Emily Bendit. Their twin boys, Shannon and Jett, were born in 1994. Jett Cash is an up-and-coming tennis player.[5]

Cash became a grandfather in May 2010 at the age of 44 when his daughter Mia gave birth to a baby girl.[6] One of the more unusual titles was Sexiest Grandfather of the Year by an independent poll in a UK women's magazine.[7]

He continues to support various charities including GOAL (3rd world development and relief organisation) The Orchid Appeal (men's cancer) and founded the Australian environmental charity Planet Ark with his friend Jon Dee. The two of them having moved on from Planet Ark have set up "Do Something!", an organisation that helps Australians to create social and environmental change.

Cash supports Hawthorn in the Australian Football League;[8] his father Pat Cash, Sr. played for Hawthorn between 1951 and 1955 as a forward, amassing 58 games and scoring 75 goals.[9]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 finals (1 title, 2 runners-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Opponent in final Score in final
Runner-up 1987 Australian Open Grass Sweden Stefan Edberg 3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 3–6
Winner 1987 Wimbledon Grass Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 7–5
Runner-up 1988 Australian Open Hard Sweden Mats Wilander 3–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–3, 1–6, 6–8

Doubles (2 runners-up)

Outcome Year Championship Surface Partner Opponents in final Score in final
Runner-up 1984 Wimbledon, London Grass Australia Paul McNamee United States Peter Fleming
United States John McEnroe 		2–6, 7–5, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Runner-up 1985 Wimbledon Grass Australia John Fitzgerald Switzerland Heinz Günthardt
Hungary Balázs Taróczy 		4–6, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6

Career finals

Legend
Grand Slam (1)
Year-end Championships (0)
Grand Prix Super Series (0)
Grand Prix Tour (5)

Singles (6 titles, 5 runners-up)

Outcome No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in final Score in final
Winner 1. October 1983 Brisbane, Australia Carpet (i) Australia Paul McNamee 4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Winner 2. December 1983 Melbourne Outdoor, Australia Grass Australia Rod Frawley 6–4, 7–6
Runner-up 1. October 1984 Melbourne Indoor, Melbourne Carpet (i) United States Matt Mitchell 4–6, 6–3, 2–6
Runner-up 2. January 1987 Australian Open, Melbourne Grass Sweden Stefan Edberg 3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 3–6
Winner 3. March 1987 Lorraine Open, Nancy Carpet (i) Australia Wally Masur 6–2, 6–3
Winner 4. June 1987 Wimbledon Grass Czechoslovakia Ivan Lendl 7–6(7–5), 6–2, 7–5
Runner-up 3. October 1987 Australian Indoor Championships, Sydney Hard (i) Czech Republic Ivan Lendl 4–6, 2–6, 4–6
Winner 5. November 1987 South African Open, Johannesburg Hard (i) United States Brad Gilbert 7–6(9–7), 4–6, 2–6, 6–0, 6–1
Runner-up 4. January 1988 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard Sweden Mats Wilander 3–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–3, 1–6, 6–8
Runner-up 5. April 1990 Seoul Open, Seoul Hard Austria Alex Antonitsch 6–7, 3–6
Winner 6. April 1990 Hong Kong Hard Austria Alex Antonitsch 6–3, 6–4

Doubles (12)

Senior tour (4)

Grand Slam singles performance timeline

Tournament 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Career
Win–Loss
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open 1R QF 4R QF A NH F F 4R A 3R 2R A A 1R A 1R 26–11
French Open A A 1R 1R A A 1R 4R A A 2R A A A A A A 4–5
Wimbledon A A 4R SF 2R QF W QF A 4R 2R 2R A A 1R A 1R 29–10
US Open A 1R 3R SF A 1R 1R A A 3R A A A A A 1R A 9–7

NH = tournament not held.
A = did not participate in the tournament.

References

  1. ↑ "Pat Cash". atpworldtour.com. Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved 17 January 2014.
  2. ↑ "Cashing In At Centre Court – 12.28.87 – SI Vault". Sports Illustrated. 28 December 1987. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  3. ↑ "CNN Observations :: Home". Cnnobservations.blogspot.com. 18 March 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  4. ↑ "Pat Cash". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. Retrieved 9 September 2013.
  5. ↑ "Pat Cash's son Jett eyes professional tennis ranks". Herald Sun. 21 January 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  6. ↑ "Pat Cash a grandfather at 44". Sydney Morning Herald. 18 May 2010. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  7. ↑ "Cash junior checks out Oz". Herald Sun. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  8. ↑ "AFL Grand Final: Hawthorn Hawks claim back to back flags, defeating Sydney Swans by 63 points". NewsComAu. 27 September 2014.
  9. ↑ Beveridge, Riley. "Your AFL club’s most famous supporters, from Barack Obama to Cam Newton". Fox Sports. Retrieved 29 January 2016.

External links


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