Pat Cash Sympathizes With Stosur Pressure

Written by: Staff on 13th January 2012

Pat Cash Sympathizes With Stosur Pressure

Former tennis pros Pat Cash plays the ball in his 6:1, 3:6 and 6:1 win in the Cup of Legends final against Ivan Lendl at Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, 22 May 2011. Several former tennis pros competed in the cup that took place from 20 to 22 May. EPA/FREDRIK VON ERICHSEN |

Samantha Stosur isn’t the first Grand Slam champion to be effected by the weight of expectation when she attempts to add to her prize collection in her home country and the woman who shoulders most Australian hopes in female tennis won’t be the last.

Pat Cash has never been somebody with much interest in women’s tennis. But the former Wimbledon champion sympathizes with the plight of Stosur whose early defeats in Brisbane and Sydney have shown how anxious the U.S. Open champion has become in the build up to her much heralded tilt at adding the Australian Open title to that which she won in New York last September.

“It gets really tough for us here,” said Cash who lost two Australian Open finals to Stefan Edberg in 1987 and Mats Wilander in 1988. “The problem is we love our country so much but we spend so much time playing away and that really ups the pressure on wanting to do well.

“The problem is so many people want a piece of you during the Australian Open. It’s not helped Lleyton Hewitt, it didn’t help Pat Rafter and it’s not really helping Sam. She’s not a person who revels in the spotlight and I don’t think she’s feeling at all comfortable.”

Paul Annacone, who currently coaches Roger Federer and guided Pete Sampras to three of his five U.S. Open titles insists the ability to live up the demands of home fans is a quality that marks out great champions.

“Pete loved it,” said Annacone. “In France, Amelie Mauresmo always struggled with the pressure and it’s a tough thing. However all great athletes think it’s a great thing. It’s a great thing to have that much passion behind you and that many emotional attachments. The tricky part is balancing the big picture view of what happens, good or bad.”