Pat Cash edges over John McEnroe in second round robin match – AEGON Masters Tennis 2011
A former Australian number one, Pat Cash surprised tennis super star John McEnroe of America in straight sets at the AEGON Masters Tennis 2011, an ATP Champions Tour tournament held on the hard courts in London, England. He registered
a 7-5, 7-6(10) victory over the 52-year-old American and confidently secured a final spot on Thursday.
The Aussie, the first man ever to beat McEnroe at the Royal Albert Hall, rekindled his spark to tumble over the three times Wimbledon champion McEnroe in the most exciting encounter seen in fifteen years at this hall.
46-year-old Aussie confidently entered the British hard courts and smoothly held his opening serve. Later he exchanged breaks in early games until he got an edge in the eleventh game by breaking the American’s serve again. Cash
held his serve in the last game and sealed the opener with a 7-5 win.
The high spirited Cash kept momentum rolling in the final set. He swiftly held opening serves and after warding off the set point came across, the Aussie held entire serves. However, he failed to cash in any breakpoint chance to
his advantage and took the set to a tie-breaker. Cash dominated in it and clinched the set with a 7-6(10) score line.
"John's got amazing racket control and he hits the ball so accurately," Cash praised the former American number one. "He is great to play and it was a tough match out there."
A former world number one McEnroe was delighted to return in this arena. Regardless of receiving treatments in between sets, the legend fought back hard and dragged the final set to a tie-breaker. He was eventually outclassed after
a two hour long marathon and stated,
"Pat and I have had a lot of good battles over the years. I did everything I could and I look forward to coming back strong again tomorrow. The London crowd was awesome and the fact people still come out to watch us is really appreciated.
It's great to play here and it’s the best arena I've played in on the ATP Champions Tour.”
After missing the event over the last two years, McEnroe needs to triumph over Netherlands’ Richard Krajicek and Frenchman Henri Leconte in order to reach the final.
Richard Krajicek, a former world number eight, joined the winning circle later that day. He formulated a 6-4, 6-4 victory over the Frenchman in around ninety-minutes.
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