Pat Cash

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Pat Cash
Country Flag of Australia Australia
Residence London, England
Date of birth May 27, 1965 (1965-05-27) (age 43)
Place of birth Melbourne, Australia
Height 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 84 kg (190 lb/13.2 st)
Turned pro 1982
Retired 1997
Plays Right-handed; one-handed backhand
Career prize money $1,950,345
Singles
Career record: 242 - 149
Career titles: 7
Highest ranking: 4 (May 9, 1988)
Grand Slam results
Australian Open F
French Open 4r
Wimbledon W (1987)
US Open SF
Doubles
Career record: 174 - 110
Career titles: 12
Highest ranking: 6 (August 13, 1984)

Infobox last updated on: July 18, 2006.

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

Contents

[edit] 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.

Cash 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, which his mother handmade for him.

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.

Cash was the runner-up in the men's doubles competition at Wimbledon in both 1984 and 1985.

In 1986, Cash 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 on grass.

[edit] 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.

[edit] 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 an epic 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 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.

Since his retirement from the tour, Cash has resided mainly in London. He has coached top players including Greg Rusedski and Mark Philippoussis. He has also worked as a TV commentator. 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 the 2003 Australian Open and has played with his own band at various events and festivals.

At an early age, Cash had two children out-of-wedlock with his girlfriend, the Norwegian model Anne-Britt Kristiansen. In 1990, Cash married Emily, the Neo-Geo Baseball champion, and they appeared together on the first series of the Gamesmaster television programme. They had two sons, twins Shannon and Jett, before divorcing.

In 1999, Cash checked into a rehabilitation clinic for treatment for his drug and alcohol addictions. He has stated publicly that in the past, he was depressed and considered suicide.[1]

[edit] 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".

[edit] Grand Slam singles finals

[edit] Win (1)

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

[edit] 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

[edit] Titles (19)

[edit] Singles (7)

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

[edit] 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

[edit] External links