Early Career
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 regarded as the greatest day in US open history featured the 3 set thriller women's final Evert v Navratilova 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 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.
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“He was at a starting point which makes many a man’s career a fine subject for betting, if there were any gentlemen given to that amusement who could appreciate the complicated probabilities of an arduous purpose, with all the possible thwartings and furtherings of circumstance, all the niceties of inward balance, by which a man swings and makes his point or else is carried headlong.”
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