Cash Proves to Gerulaitis He’s Back : Aussie Meets Doubles Partner Fitzgerald in Today’s Final

Vitas Gerulaitis hadn’t played a tournament in several months before he came to the Hartmarx Racquet Club event at the John Wayne Tennis Club in Newport Beach.

Pat Cash hadn’t played a tournament in several months before he blitzed to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon last month. There, he became the heart-throb of the fortnight, tossing sweatbands to squealing female fans.

He also began his comeback. Cash’s ranking after Wimbledon went from No. 413 to No. 103, a jump believed to be the greatest ever in tennis.

Theirs were similar absences for dissimilar reasons. Gerulaitis, at age 32, was weary of “whipping my body into shape.” Cash, an Australian who has a body that could whip anyone’s, was dealing with a series of injuries, including back surgery, that kept him out of tennis for eight months.

Cash’s back is back. He beat Gerulaitis, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, Saturday before 300 fans to advance to the final in this $87,500 invitational tournament. He’ll meet his doubles partner, John Fitzgerald, today, following the singles consolation match that starts at 12:30 p.m.

“He kept the pressure on,” Gerulaitis said. “I had a chance to get back. He was playing pretty tough.”

Cash showed flashes of his former hard-driving self, but also looked like a man who had been away from the game for a time. He broke Gerulaitis on his first service game, and Gerulaitis never recovered--until the second set. As Gerulaitis’ serve gathered momentum, Cash’s left him. Gerulaitis broke twice to take the set.

“I was playing pretty well,” Gerulaitis said. “I’ve lost a few pounds. I can still play pretty well if I whip myself back into shape. I’m not sure it’s worth it.”

Tennis’ former party boy has been unofficially retired from the tour but surfaces for exhibitions and non-tour events such as this. His ranking is No. 257.

While he is capable of playing on the level that brought him to as high as No. 4 in the world, Gerulaitis is not able to sustain that level over three sets.

In Saturday’s match, Gerulaitis was playing to the crowd, a favorite and familiar game of his. At one point, after a frustrated Cash repeatedly bounced his racket off the ground, Gerulaitis mimicked Cash, to the delight of the crowd.

As much as he loves to clown, Gerulaitis had ulterior motives: “I was just trying to get some air. I was biding for a little time,” he said.

Cash got back on form in the third set, breaking Gerulaitis in the first game. From there, Cash was in control.

In the earlier match, Australia’s Fitzgerald beat Henrik Sundstrom of Sweden, 6-1, 2-6, 6-0.

Sundstrom’s first serve was his undoing.

“It didn’t work,” he said. “My first serve percentage is not very high. I kept changing my serve. He got up a break early and it was close after that. I’m not playing badly and he played all right. He always attacks, and that gives me difficulty.”

The first match was played before a sparse crowd as a number of the fans had abandoned the Fitzgerald-Sundstrom match in favor of watching the Boris Becker-John McEnroe match from Stratton Mountain, Vt. The Becker-McEnroe match was televised in the bar, which was jammed.

Both players said they heard the shouting coming from the bar, which grew noisy after Becker won. “I knew what was going on, but it was no problem,” Fitzgerald said.

Fitzgerald is known as a doubles player, but, like most pros, he can kick in and out of the doubles-singles mind set. This will be his first singles final in eight month.

“I think doubles comes to me more easily than singles,” Fitzgerald said. “I play the angles and I play the court better.”