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Pat Cash’s Wimbledon title: 30 year anniversary

Wimbledon: Tennis' biggest stage. (cmjlee / wikimedia commons)
Roar Guru
21st June, 2017
3

With Wimbledon getting underway next week, it’s worth remembering a famous Australian victory in the men’s singles at the hallowed tournament 30 years ago.

Germany’s 19-year-old sensation Boris Becker was the number one men’s seed and the two-time defending champion at the 1987 tournament. Pat Cash was the 11th seed and 22 years old at the time.

Other big names in the draw included Ivan Lendl (the number two seed), Mats Wilander (3), Stefan Edberg (4), Yannick Noah (6) and Jimmy Connors (7). Andre Agassi made his first appearance at the event as a young, unseeded player.

Cash only dropped one set in the first four rounds, and his unseeded countryman Peter Doohan did him a huge favour when he knocked Boris Becker out in the second round in four sets in a massive upset.

Cash’s confidence grew as the tournament progressed, sweeping aside Mats Wilander in straight sets in the quarters and doing the same to Jimmy Connors in his semi-final. That set up a clash with Czech Ivan Lendl in the final, who was then ranked the number one player in the world.

With many Australians cheering him on in their lounge rooms in the early hours of the morning, Cash played brilliantly to beat Lendl 7-6, 6-2, 7-5. He celebrated by climbing into the stands to celebrate with his coach and family, something that was rare at the time, especially at a traditional event like Wimbledon.

Cash became the first Australian to win the men’s singles at Wimbledon since John Newcombe in 1971, and the 11th in the history of Australian tennis to do it. His predecessors were Rod Laver (four times), Newcombe (three times), Roy Emerson (twice), Lew Hoad (twice), Gerald Patterson (twice), Norman Brookes (twice), Neale Fraser, Ashley Cooper, Frank Sedgman and Jack Crawford. Only Lleyton Hewitt has joined the list since, with his victory in 2002.

Pat Cash never won another grand slam event, but no-one can ever take that 1987 Wimbledon triumph away from him. He also spearheaded Australia to Davis Cup victories in 1983 and 1986, with his world singles ranking peaking at number four in 1988. He lost consecutive Australian Open finals in 1987 and 1988 to Swedish players Stefan Edberg and Mats Wilander, respectively.

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