General Patrick Hart (Pat)
Cash
Male
Australia
1965-05-27
Melbourne, Australia


About

Pat is a former Australian professional tennis player who won the Men's Singles title at Wimbledon in 1987. He won 6 titles and reached a career-high singles ranking of World No. 4 in May 1988.

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 Evert v Navratilova and a McEnroe v 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, but somehow managed to get through to the singles quarter finals. During the championship Cash was so pleased about his wins he started the now common tradition of throwing wristbands and, in his case headbands to the fans in the crowd causing a big frenzy.

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.

The crowning moment of Cash's career came at Wimbledon in 1987. Having already beaten 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.

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.

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, 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.

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.

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.

Cash became a grandfather in May 2010 at the age of 44 when his daughter Mia gave birth to a baby girl. One of the more unusual titles was Sexiest Grandfather of the Year by an independent poll in a UK women's magazine. He is now a grandfather of two as Mia gave birth in July 2013 to a baby boy named Patrick.



Media


Archive statistics 1980 - 1997
7
256
165


Tournament wins 1987 - Wimbledon (Grandslam)
1984 - Kent Championships (Open)
1983 - Victorian Open (Grand Prix Circuit)
1983 - Brisbane International (ATP World Tour 250 series)
1983 - Rosebowl - Southport (Open)
1982 - Australian Hard Courts Championship (Amateur)
1980 - Australia 2 Satellite - Leg 2 (Open)


Tournaments Wimbledon - 1997 Wimbledon - 1995 Australian Open - 1992 Wimbledon - 1992 Australian Open - 1991 Wimbledon - 1991 Roland Garros - 1991 Wimbledon - 1990 US Open - 1990 Australian Open - 1989 Australian Open - 1988 Wimbledon - 1988 Roland Garros - 1988 Australian Open - 1987 Wimbledon - 1987 Roland Garros - 1987 US Open - 1987 Jericho - 1987 Wimbledon - 1986 US Open - 1986 Wimbledon - 1985 Queens Club Tournament - 1985 Australian Open - 1984 Wimbledon - 1984 Roland Garros - 1984 US Open - 1984 Canadian International Championships - 1984 Olympics, Olympic Games - 1984 Cincinnati - 1984 Queens Club Tournament - 1984 Italian International Championships - 1984 Pacific Southwest Championships - 1984 River Oaks Tournament - 1984 Kent Championships - 1984 Aix-en-Provence - 1984 ABN AMRO Rotterdam - 1984 Brussels Indoor - 1984 Lausanne International - 1984 Brussels Indoor - Qualifying - 1984 Australian Open - 1983 Wimbledon - 1983 South Australian Championships - 1983 Roland Garros - 1983 US Open - 1983 New South Wales Championships - 1983 Canadian International Championships - 1983 Nice - 1983 Cincinnati - 1983 Queens Club Tournament - 1983 Italian International Championships - 1983 British Hard Court Championships - 1983 Kent Championships - 1983 West of England Championships - 1983 Brisbane International - 1983 Aix-en-Provence - 1983 Florence International - 1983 Lisboa (Lisbon) - 1983 Monte Carlo - Qualifying - 1983 Australian Indoors - 1983 World Team Cup - 1983 AMF Head Cup - 1983 Victorian Open - 1983 Rosebowl - Southport - 1983 South Australian Championships - 1982(2) Australian Open - 1982 South Australian Championships - 1982 US Open - 1982 New South Wales Championships - 1982 Canadian International Championships - 1982 Pacific Coast Championship - 1982 Italian International Championships - 1982 Queensland Championships - 1982 Roland Garros Qualifying - 1982 Wimbledon Qualifying - 1982 Australian Hard Courts Championship - 1982 US Open Qualifying - 1982 Western Australia Championships - 1982 Pacific Coast Championship - Qualifying - 1982 Australian Indoors - 1982 Italian International Championships - Qualifying - 1982 Toyota City - 1982 Chigasaki - 1982 Melbourne Indoor - 1982 Tokyo Challenger - 1982 AMF Head Cup - 1982 Nagareyama - 1982 Stowe - Qualifying - 1982 Australian Open - 1981 South Australian Championships - 1981 New South Wales Championships - 1981 Roland Garros Qualifying - 1981 Australian Hard Courts Championship - 1981 Western Australia Championships - 1981 West of Scotland Championships - 1981 South Pacific - 1981 Australia 2 Satellite - Leg 3 - 1981 Melbourne Indoor - 1981 New South Wales - Qualifying - 1981 Australian Open Qualifying - 1980 South Australian Metropolitan Hard Courts - 1980 Australia 2 Satellite - Leg 2 - 1980

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