Cash Gets Every Break in Easy Win Over Fitzgerald

Pat Cash might have seen it coming. He might have seen it during their practice sessions last week, and he certainly could see it in warmups Sunday.

John Fitzgerald’s first serve left without so much as a goodby. That, and a general lifting of his own game, gave Cash a 6-4, 6-2 win over Fitzgerald in the final of the $85,000 Hartmarx Racquet Club event Sunday at the John Wayne Tennis Club in Newport Beach.

A crowd of about 300 groaned along with Fitzgerald as he struggled to gain the upper hand on his service games. But, with a good but not powerful second serve, Fitzgerald had to be content with getting the ball in play against Cash.

“I missed a lot of first serves, that’s the key against Pat,” Fitzgerald said.

The two Australians had spent the week practicing together and they played doubles here, as well. Cash said he noticed the obvious trouble Fitzgerald was having with his serve.

“We’ve been playing together all week, and I’ve been playing a little better than he has been,” Cash said. “I was hitting the ball on the line, and he was just missing by an inch.”

Cash was more mobile and aggressive in the final than he had been all week as he played himself into the tournament.

Cash had been out of tennis several months with a swollen disc in his back and, just before Wimbledon this year, he had his appendix removed .

“I’ve got to be feeling good about my playing right now,” he said. “I’m very pleased with the way I hit the ball today. I have a couple of weeks to go before the (U.S.) Open, a little fine-tuning. By then, I should be hitting the ball very well.”

Cash, 21, had watched his ranking fall from No. 8 in 1984, to No. 413. After Wimbledon, where he was beaten in the quarterfinals, his ranking rebounded to No. 107.

That ranking came from the type of play he displayed Sunday.

He broke Fitzgerald in the fifth game of the first set, after Fitzgerald had held off two break points. A defensive lob by Cash caught the baseline, and that point gave him the break and a 3-2 lead.

Both players then held serve with Cash winning the set, 6-4.

Cash broke Fitzgerald in the first game of the second set, thanks to a double fault and his own backhand passing shot.

Each player then began to feed off the rhythm of the other. Both began to come to the net, with mixed success. Both sprayed shots around the court. As Cash pointed out, his shots seemed to hug the lines while Fitzgerald’s were just out.

In the fourth game of the second set, it looked as if Fitzgerald might break back. He got to deuce for a second time when Cash committed his only double fault of the match. Cash came back with an ace on the next point, but he hit a volley into the net to bring it back to deuce for the third time.

Fitzgerald was caught going the wrong way two points later, and Cash passed him to work out of the jam, taking a 3-1 lead.

In the next game, Fitzgerald fought off two more break points to come back and hold serve at 3-2.

Cash held, and then Fitzgerald had another poor service game. Saturday, he had tried several variations with his serve, twisting his shoulders and shuffling his feet.

By the seventh game Sunday, Fitzgerald had gone back to basics, staying with whatever was getting in the court. He was serving at deuce when he came up with another inopportune double fault. On the next point, Fitzgerald stood at the net and watched as Cash’s lob landed well in. That break left Cash with a 5-2 lead and Fitzgerald without much hope.