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Pat Cash

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Pat Cash
Country (sports) Australia
ResidenceLondon, United Kingdom
Height1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Turned pro1982
Retired1997
PlaysRight-handed; one-handed backhand
Prize moneyUS$1,950,345
Singles
Career record242–149
Career titles7
Highest ranking4 (9 May 1988)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenF (1987, 1988)
French Open4R
WimbledonW (1987)
US OpenSF
Doubles
Career record174–110
Career titles12
Highest ranking6 (13 August 1984)
Last updated on: 18 July 2006.

Patrick Hart "Pat" Cash (born 27 May 1965, in Melbourne, Victoria) is a former professional tennis player from Australia who won the men's singles title at Wimbledon in 1987.

Early career

Cash first came to the tennis world's attention as a junior player in the early 1980s. 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 earing.

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 semifinals at both Wimbledon and the US Open. He lost in three sets in the Wimbledon semifinals to John McEnroe and was defeated in the semifinals at the US Open by Ivan Lendl, who won their match in a fifth set tiebreaker. This day regarded as the greatest day in US open history featured the 3 set thriller womens final Evert v Navratalova and a McEnroe v Connors 5 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 a with McNamee and 1985 with Fitzgrald.

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.

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

The crowning moment of Cash's career came at Wimbledon in 1987. Having already beaten Mats Wilander in the quarterfinals and Jimmy Connors in the semifinals, Cash defeated the World No. 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. This started a Wimbledon tradition that has been followed by many other champions at Wimbledon and other Grand Slam tournaments.

Later career and retirement

In 1988, Cash reached the Australian Open final for the second consecutive year and faced another 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.

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

Cash continued to play on the circuit on-and-off through the mid-1990s. But 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.

Since his retirement from the tour, Cash has resided mainly in London. He has coached top players including Greg Rusedski and Mark Philippoussis.He 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 Carabbean St Lucia and Dominican Republic. and He has also worked as a TV commentator primarily for the BBC. A father of four, 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.

He continues to support various non profit charities including GOAL http://www.goal.ie/(3rd world development and relief organisation) The Orchid Appeal http://www.orchid-cancer.org.uk/Home (men's cancer) and founded Australia's best known environmental charity Planet Ark http://www.planetark.com/ with mate Jon Dee.

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 http://www.championsseriestennis.com/newport2008/

At an early age, Cash had two children out of wedlock with his then girlfriend, the Norwegian model Anne-Britt Kristiansen. In 1990, Cash married Emily. They had two sons, twins Shannon and Jett, before divorcing.

In 1999, Cash checked into a rehabilitation clinic for treatment for his depression and has spoken openly about this disease and past drug and alcohol taking. He has stated publicly that he even considered suicide.[1]

Trivia

  • Cash was the last player to win a major title using a non-composite tennis racket. In the 1987 Wimbledon final, he played with a Prince Magnesium Pro model.
  • Cash won a total of 7 top-level singles and 12 tour doubles titles during his career.
  • Cash's career-high world rankings were World No. 4 in singles and World No. 6 in doubles.
  • During the 1987 Wimbledon men's singles final, while the match was in progress, a fan held up a sign reading "Cash is better than a Czech", a play on the nationality of the eventual runner-up Ivan Lendl.
  • The term "Pat Cash" has become Cockney rhyming slang for "slash", which is itself a British slang term for "urinate".
  • Cash has jammed on stage with members from bands such as Thin Lizzy, Iron Maiden, Rose Tattoo, Bad Company, The Cult, The Pretenders and more. He is thanked in the liner notes of the Iron Maiden albums Somewhere in Time (album) and Piece of Mind (Iron Maiden album).[2]
  • He recorded the Led Zeppelin son Rock and Roll for the Armenian earthquake appeal playing guitar with John McEnroe and having Roger Daltrey (The Who) singing and Nicko McBrain and Steve Harris (Iron Maiden)doing drums and bass.
  • Pat is a qualified Reiki healer.
  • His son Daniel plays varsity tennis at the University of Florida, Gainesville.
  • In May 2001, Cash lost a clay court exhibition match to the future World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who was then only 15 years old.

Grand Slam singles finals

Win (1)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1987 Wimbledon Ivan Lendl 7–6, 6–2, 7–5

Runner-ups (2)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1987 Australian Open Stefan Edberg 6–3, 6–4, 3–6, 5–7, 6–3
1988 Australian Open Mats Wilander 6–3, 6–7, 3–6, 6–1, 8–6

Titles (22)

Singles (7)

No. Year Tournament Opponent in Final Score
1. 1982 Melbourne, Australia Rod Frawley 6–4, 7–6
2. 1983 Brisbane, Australia Paul McNamee 4–6, 6–4, 6–3
3. 1983 Melbourne, Australia Rod Frawley 6–4, 7–6
4. 1987 Nancy, France Wally Masur 6–2, 6–3
5. 1987 Wimbledon Ivan Lendl 7–6, 6–2, 7–5
6. 1987 Johannesburg Brad Gilbert 7–6, 4–6, 2–6, 6–0, 6–1
7. 1990 Hong Kong Alex Antonitsch 6–3, 6–4

Doubles (12)

  • 1982 - Adelaide
  • 1983 - Sydney Outdoor, Brisbane
  • 1984 - Aix-En-Provence, Houston, Houston WCT, London
  • 1985 - Las Vegas
  • 1987 - Montreal
  • 1990 - Sydney Outdoor, Hong Kong
  • 1996 - Pinehurst

Senior tour (3)

References

  1. ^ Finalist thrilled by return game - Larsson loves coming to Memphis
  2. ^ ABOUT PAT CASH
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