Seeing is believing — Cash wins Legends Cup

“But if you keep this up you will always disbelieve your eyes. That is when trouble starts. You will not accept upsets. You will not accept miracles. You end up losing out on so much of the fun. Thus the best thing is to believe what you see and leave the tanking’ or match-fixing to the players’ professional pride.”

Now who said Vilas does not have the heart and soul of a poet.

Importantly, because Pat Cash ended up winning the Gold Flake Legends Cup tennis tournament at the KSLTA Stadium on Sunday, the vast majority of the tennis fans would have gone home believing their eyes. But well before the final point was drilled home, seeing was quite unbelieving!

A much younger, fitter and sharper Pat Cash was in danger of losing the match to the Swedish legend Bjorn Borg. Cash won the first set comfortably enough. In fact it was a true indication of their current level of play. But in the second, he seemed to have lost all his sharpness. The volleying was either wide or long while his moments were sluggish. Sometimes, the court was left so open that Borg had no trouble serving aces!

Borg, clearly, was the crowd favourite. They egged him to roll back the years and play like the champion he once was. Unfortunately even legends have to bow to the dictates of Father Time as Borg today found out.

The Swede still is incredibly quick for one who is 44 years of age. Occasionally, there were glimpses of the magic Borg, especially when he came up with those devastating passing shots. But for the most part of the match, Cash, at least 10 years his junior, was far too sharp for him.

Borg drew level at one set all as Cash made errors the eye saw but the mind did not believe. However, in the Legends third set decider (played to the first-to-get-to-10 points), Cash re-found his first set touch to canter home. Cash won 6-4, 5-7, 10-7 and restored faith in what the eye saw (Vilas please note).