Pat Cash Explained

Pat Cash
Residence:London, England
Birth Date:27 May 1965
Birth Place:Melbourne, Australia
Height:1.83 m[1]
Turnedpro:1982
Retired:1997 (singles)
2006 (doubles)
Plays:Right-handed (one-handed backhand)
Careerprizemoney:US$1,950,345
Singlesrecord:238–148 (61.7%)
Singlestitles:6
Highestsinglesranking:No. 4 (9 May 1988)
Australianopenresult:F (1987, 1988)
Frenchopenresult:4R (1988)
Wimbledonresult:W (1987)
Usopenresult:SF (1984)
Othertournaments:yes
Masterscupresult:RR (1987)
Wctfinalsresult:QF (1988)
Olympicsresult:1R (1984, demonstration event)
Doublesrecord:174–110
Doublestitles:12
Highestdoublesranking:No. 6 (13 August 1984)
Australianopendoublesresult:SF (1984)
Frenchopendoublesresult:3R (1982)
Wimbledondoublesresult:F (1984, 1985)
Usopendoublesresult:SF (1983)
Team:yes
Daviscupresult:W (1983, 1986)
Hopmancupresult:F (1989)

Patrick Hart Cash (born 27 May 1965) is an Australian former professional tennis player and coach. He reached a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 4 in May 1988 and a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 6 in August 1988. Upon winning the 1987 singles title at Wimbledon, Cash climbed into the stands to celebrate, starting a tradition that has continued ever since.

Early life

Cash is the son of Pat Cash Sr., who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the 1950s.[2] [3] He grew up in Melbourne and was educated at Marcellin College and Whitefriars College.

Career

Junior years

Cash came to the tennis world's attention as a prominent and promising junior player in the early 1980s. He was awarded a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport. He was ranked the No. 1 junior player in the world in 1981.

In June 1982, Cash won the junior doubles title at the French Open partnering John Frawley. In July he won the junior singles title at Wimbledon, and while partnering Frawley, he also won the junior doubles title at the same tournament. In September, he won the junior singles title at the US Open, and while partnering Frawley, he was also the runner-up of the junior doubles at the same tournament.

Professional years

Cash turned professional in late 1982 and won his first top-level singles title that year in Melbourne.

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.[4]

In 1984, Cash reached the 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 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 semifinal – creating the day now known as 'Super Saturday'. Cash finished the year in top 10 for the first time.

Cash was the runner-up in the doubles competition at Wimbledon in both 1984 with Paul McNamee and 1985 with John 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 quarterfinals of the competition, and during the championship he started the now common tradition of throwing wristbands and headbands into the crowd.

1987 was a particularly strong year for Cash. He reached five singles finals, of which two were Grand Slam finals. 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.The crowning moment of Cash's career came in 1987 at Wimbledon. Having already beaten Marcel Freeman, Paul McNamee, Michiel Schapers, Guy Forget, Mats Wilander in the quarterfinals and Jimmy Connors in the semifinals, Cash defeated the world No. 1, Ivan Lendl, in the final in straight sets. 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. He thus started a Wimbledon tradition that has been followed by many other champions at Wimbledon and other Grand Slam tournaments since. He only dropped one set during the entire tournament.[5] [6] He finished the year ranked at No. 7.

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 on hard court, and Wilander won in a four-and-a-half-hour encounter, taking the fifth set 8–6. It was the first Grand Slam final in history to be played indoors after rain delays forced the closing of the roof midway through the match.[7] [8] Cash also reached his career-high ranking of world No. 4 in May.

Coming in as the defending champion in 1988 at Wimbledon, Cash was seeded fourth and only dropped two sets (both during the second round) en route to the quarterfinals, but his run came to an end when he lost to sixth seed and eventual runner-up Boris Becker. It was the last time he reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam tournament in singles. 1988 was the last time Cash ended the year in the top 20, finishing the year ranked 20th, after having been ranked inside the top 10 from the start of the year until 21 November.

In April 1989, Cash ruptured his Achilles tendon at the Japan Open and was out of action until March 1990.[9]

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 consecutive 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 April 1990 at the Hong Kong Open.[9] His last doubles title came in 1996 at the U.S. Men's Clay Court Championships with Pat Rafter.

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

Post-retirement

Since his retirement from the tour in 1997, Cash has resided mainly in London. He is the host of CNN's tennis-focused magazine show Open Court,[11] and has also worked as a TV co-commentator, primarily for the BBC. Cash continues to be a draw card on both the ATP and Champions Cup legends tours. He won the Hall of Fame event in Newport Rhode Island in 2008 and 2009. He has coached top players including Greg Rusedski and Mark Philippoussis.

Cash opened a tennis academy on the Gold Coast of Australia and is also opening academies in Ko Samui, Thailand and in the Caribbean St Vincent, St Lucia and Dominican Republic.

Cash was inducted into the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2005.[12]

Cash won the over-45s Wimbledon doubles title with fellow Australian Mark Woodforde in 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013. In November 2014, he played in the inaugural Champions Tennis League in India.

In 2022, Cash appeared on the third British series of The Masked Singer masked as "Bagpipes". He was fourth to be unmasked.[13]

Personal life

In his early twenties, Cash had two children with his then-girlfriend, Norwegian model Anne-Britt Kristiansen. They have a son and a daughter. From 1990 through 2002 Cash was married to Brazilian Emily Bendit. They have twin boys. In 2010, Cash became a grandfather at age 45 when his daughter gave birth to a daughter.[14]

Cash was criticised for stating in an August 2021 interview with The Conservative Woman, broadcast online, that he had been taking Ivermectin for more than 15 months, claiming that "I'm living proof that I have been in the worst areas everywhere around the world and I haven't come close to getting COVID", despite the lack of evidence for the safety or efficacy of the drug for such measures.[15] [16] [17] Cash and former American surfer Kelly Slater were labelled "cookers" (conspiracy theorists) after they exchanged views on Twitter about the concept of the 15-minute city in February 2023.[18]

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 3 (1 title, 2 runner-ups)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss1987Australian OpenGrass Stefan Edberg3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 3–6
Win1987WimbledonGrass Ivan Lendl7–6(7–5), 6–2, 7–5
Loss1988Australian OpenHard Mats Wilander3–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–3, 1–6, 6–8

Doubles (2 runner-ups)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Loss1984WimbledonGrass Paul McNamee Peter Fleming
John McEnroe
2–6, 7–5, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Loss1985WimbledonGrass John Fitzgerald Heinz Günthardt
Balázs Taróczy
4–6, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6

ATP career finals

Singles: 11 (6 titles, 5 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam (1–2)
Year-end championship (0–0)
Grand Prix Super series (0–0)
Grand Prix Championship series (0–0)
Grand Prix Tour (5–3)
ResultW-L DateTournamentSurfaceOpponentScore
Win1–0Dec 1982Melbourne Outdoor, AustraliaGrass Rod Frawley6–4, 7–6
Win2–0Oct 1983Brisbane, AustraliaCarpet (i) Paul McNamee4–6, 6–4, 6–3
Loss2–1Oct 1984Melbourne Indoor, AustraliaCarpet (i) Matt Mitchell4–6, 6–3, 2–6
Loss2–2Jan 1987Australian Open, MelbourneGrass Stefan Edberg3–6, 4–6, 6–3, 7–5, 3–6
Win3–2Mar 1987Lorraine Open, FranceCarpet (i) Wally Masur6–2, 6–3
Win4–2Jun 1987WimbledonGrass Ivan Lendl7–6(7–5), 6–2, 7–5
Loss4–3Oct 1987Australian Indoor ChampionshipsHard (i) Ivan Lendl4–6, 2–6, 4–6
Win5–3Nov 1987South African OpenHard (i) Brad Gilbert7–6(9–7), 4–6, 2–6, 6–0, 6–1
Loss5–4Jan 1988Australian Open, MelbourneHard Mats Wilander3–6, 7–6(7–3), 6–3, 1–6, 6–8
Loss5–5Apr 1990Seoul Open, South KoreaHard Alex Antonitsch6–7(2–7), 3–6
Win6–5Apr 1990Hong KongHard Alex Antonitsch6–3, 6–4

Doubles (11 titles, 6 runner-ups)

Legend
Grand Slam (0–2)
Year-end championship (0–0)
Grand Prix Super series (1–0)
Grand Prix Championship series (0–0)
Grand Prix Tour (11–4)
ResultW-L DateTournamentSurfacePartnerOpponentsScore
Win1–0Dec 1982Adelaide, AustraliaGrass Chris Johnstone Broderick Dyke
Wayne Hampson
6–3, 6–7, 7–6
Loss1–1Jun 1985London/Queen's Club, UKGrass John Fitzgerald Ken Flach
Robert Seguso
6–3, 3–6, 14–16
Loss1–2Jul 1985Wimbledon, LondonGrass John Fitzgerald Heinz Günthardt
Balázs Taróczy
4–6, 3–6, 6–4, 3–6
Win2–2Oct 1983Brisbane, AustraliaCarpet Paul McNamee Mark Edmondson
Kim Warwick
7–6, 7–6
Win3–2Dec 1983Sydney, AustraliaGrass Mike Bauer Broderick Dyke
Rod Frawley
7–6, 6–4
Win4–2Apr 1984Houston, USClay Paul McNamee David Dowlen
Nduka Odizor
7–5, 4–6, 6–3
Win5–2Apr 1984Aix-en-Provence, FranceClay Paul McNamee Chris Lewis
Wally Masur
4–6, 6–3, 6–4
Win6–2Jun 1984London/Queen's Club, UKGrass Paul McNamee Bernard Mitton
Butch Walts
6–4, 6–3
Loss6–3Jul 1984Wimbledon, LondonGrass Paul McNamee Peter Fleming
John McEnroe
2–6, 7–5, 2–6, 6–3, 3–6
Win7–3May 1985Las Vegas, USHard John Fitzgerald Paul Annacone
Christo van Rensburg
7–6, 6–7, 7–6
Loss7–4Nov 1986Hong Kong, Hong KongHard Mark Kratzmann Mike De Palmer
Gary Donnelly
6–7, 7–6, 5–7
Loss7–5Nov 1986Stockholm, SwedenHard Slobodan Živojinović Sherwood Stewart
Kim Warwick
4–6, 4–6
Win8–5Aug 1987Montreal, CanadaHard Stefan Edberg Peter Doohan
Laurie Warder
6–7, 6–3, 6–4
Win9–5Jan 1990Sydney, AustraliaHard Mark Kratzmann Pieter Aldrich
Danie Visser
6–4, 7–5
Win10–5Apr 1990Hong Kong, Hong KongHard Wally Masur Kevin Curren
Joey Rive
6–3, 6–3
Loss10–6Apr 1996BermudaClay Pat Rafter Jan Apell
Brent Haygarth
6–3, 1–6, 3–6
Win11–6May 1996Pinehurst, USClay Pat Rafter Ken Flach
David Wheaton
6–2, 6–3

Junior Grand Slam finals

Boys' singles: 3 (2–1)

ResultYearChampionshipSurfaceOpponentScore
Loss1981Wimbledon Jrs.Grass Matt Anger6–7(3–7), 5–7
Win1982Wimbledon Jrs.Grass Henrik Sundström6–4, 6–7(5–7), 6–3
Win1982US Open Jrs.Hard Guy Forget6–3, 6–3

Performance timelines

Singles

Walkovers are neither official wins nor official losses.

Tournament19811982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997SRW–L
Grand Slam tournaments
Australian Open1RQF4RQFANHFF4RA3R2RAA1RA1R0 / 1126–11
French OpenAA1R1RAA1R4RAA2RAAAAAA0 / 54–5
WimbledonAA4RSF2RQFWQFA4R2R2RAA1RA1R1 / 1129–10
US OpenA1R3RSFA1R1RAA3RAAAAA1RA0 / 79–7
Win–loss0–13–28–413–41–14–212–313–33–15–24–32–20–00–00–20–10–21 / 3468–33
Year-end ranking3423410672472036881108203511250765379
National representation
Davis CupAAWSFSFWSFQFPOFAAAAAAA2 / 823–7

Top 10 wins

Season19811982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997Total
Wins0014028100000000016
width=200PlayerRankwidth=250EventSurfaceRdwidth=200ScoreCash
rank
1983
1. Vitas Gerulaitis9Queen's Club, Londonbgcolor=#cfcGrass2R5–7, 6–3, 6–361
1984
2. Mats Wilander4Wimbledon, Londonbgcolor=#cfcGrass2R6–7(2–7), 6–4, 6–2, 6–433
3. Andrés Gómez6Wimbledon, Londonbgcolor=#cfcGrassQF6–4, 6–4, 6–7(3–7), 7–6(7–5)33
4. Mats Wilander4US Open, New YorkHardQF7–6(7–3), 6–4, 2–6, 6–318
5. Jimmy Connorsbgcolor=thistle2Davis Cup, Portland U.S.bgcolor=thistleCarpet (i)RR6–4, 6–210
1986
6. Mats Wilanderbgcolor=thistle2Wimbledon, Londonbgcolor=#cfcGrass4R4–6, 7–5, 6–4, 6–3413
7. Stefan Edberg5Davis Cup, Melbournebgcolor=#cfcGrassRR13–11, 13–11, 6–424
1987
8. Yannick Noah4Australian Open, Melbournebgcolor=#cfcGrassQF6–4, 6–2, 2–6, 6–024
9. Ivan Lendlbgcolor=lime1Australian Open, Melbournebgcolor=#cfcGrassbgcolor=yellowSF7–6(7–1), 5–7, 7–6(7–5), 6–424
10. Stefan Edberg4Queen's Club, Londonbgcolor=#cfcGrassQF7–6, 7–613
11. Mats Wilander3Wimbledon, Londonbgcolor=#cfcGrassQF6–3, 7–5, 6–411
12. Jimmy Connors7Wimbledon, Londonbgcolor=#cfcGrassbgcolor=yellowSF6–4, 6–4, 6–111
13. Ivan Lendlbgcolor=lime1Wimbledon, Londonbgcolor=#cfcGrassbgcolor=limeF7–6(7–5), 6–2, 7–511
14. Boris Becker4Sydney, AustraliaHard (i)bgcolor=yellowSF6–3, 2–6, 7–68
15. Miloslav Mečíř6Masters, New Yorkbgcolor=thistleCarpet (i)RR7–5, 6–47
1988
16. Ivan Lendlbgcolor=lime1Australian Open, MelbourneHardbgcolor=yellowSF6–4, 2–6, 6–2, 4–6, 6–27

Senior Tour titles

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Players – Pat Cash. Association of Tennis Professionals.
  2. News: AFL Grand Final: Hawthorn Hawks claim back to back flags, defeating Sydney Swans by 63 points. 27 September 2014. NewsComAu.
  3. Web site: Your AFL club's most famous supporters, from Barack Obama to Cam Newton. Fox Sports. Beveridge. Riley. 29 January 2016 . 29 January 2016.
  4. Web site: Alexandre Sokolowski . December 28, 1983: The day 18-year-old Pat Cash won the Davis Cup for Australia . Tennis Majors . 28 December 2020.
  5. Cashing in at Centre Court – 12.28.87 – SI Vault. 28 December 1987. Sports Illustrated. 17 May 2011.
  6. Web site: Resurfaced: Pat Cash... Remembering 1987 Wimbledon . Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) . 8 July 2020.
  7. Web site: Brian Dewhurst . Mats Wilander of Sweden downed Aussie Pat Cash 6-3,... . UPI . 24 January 1988.
  8. Web site: Courtney Walsh . Top Australian Open finals: Bitter disappointment for home hero Cash . The Age . 16 January 2023.
  9. Web site: Jeff Shain . Three years bring changes for Cash . UPI . 25 June 1990.
  10. Web site: Sarah Edworthy . Cash lives up to his billing as a crowd-thriller . Wimbledon . AELTC . 1 July 2020.
  11. Web site: CNN Observations :: Home. 18 March 2010. Cnnobservations.blogspot.com. 17 May 2011.
  12. Web site: Pat Cash. Sport Australia Hall of Fame. 24 September 2020.
  13. Web site: The Masked Singer UK airs fourth celebrity elimination. . 15 January 2022.
  14. News: Pat Cash a grandfather at 45. 18 May 2010. The Sydney Morning Herald. 17 May 2011.
  15. News: Returning serve at Pat Cash's dangerous COVID-19 rant. Peter. FitzSimons. The Sydney Morning Herald. 25 August 2021. 15 September 2021.
  16. News: Can ivermectin be used to treat or prevent COVID-19?. ABC News . 7 September 2021. www.abc.net.au.
  17. Web site: Watch a BBC newscaster explain the U.S. ivermectin boom to a British audience. The Week.
  18. Web site: Carey . Alexis . 'Majorly cooked': Sporting legends Pat Cash and Kelly Slater appear in controversial conspiracy chat . . 10 February 2023 . 25 March 2023.