I was embarrassed by 14-year-old Rafael Nadal beating me, but not so much after 14 French Opens: Pat Cash
Back in 2000, at the young age of 14, Rafael Nadal filled in for Boris Becker and defeated former World No. 4 Pat Cash in an exhibition match. Cash recently stated that while he felt embarrassed for some time, it all went away after Nadal became a legend and won 14 French Open titles.
Becker and Cash had retired by 2000 and were supposed to play an exhibition match in Mallorca. But the former withdrew at the last minute, with Nadal replacing him. The Spaniard then beat 1987 Wimbledon champion Cash, who was 35 at the time.
Speaking on the Control the Controllables podcast recently, Cash narrated the events of the day and how the event organizers introduced him to Nadal.
"They said, 'We've got this young junior guy, he's still 14 but a world champion. Do you mind playing against him?' I said, 'Whatever, the show must go on'. I was a little concerned because it does take me a few weeks to get used to clay and I hadn't practiced much. Then this kid came out, he was pretty decent-sized and strong. That was Rafa," Cash said.
Cash lost the first set but shifted gears to comfortably take the second.
"Much to the amusement of the crowd, Rafa beat me in the first set, I think 6-3 or 6-4, just chasing down shots all over the place," he said. "So the crowd thought it was hilarious. I said, 'That's it. Get in, serve and volley', and I won the second set easily, 6-1 or something like that."
Nadal eventually won the match in the third-set tiebreak, impressing Cash.
"I played a couple of bad points, and he played a couple of unbelievable shots, running into the side fence, and he won the tiebreaker," he said. "I thought, 'Jeez, this kid is good'. I thought any other kid would choke in that situation but he didn't. I've got to say I was a little bit embarrassed by the whole thing but it was fun, it wasn't a proper match."
Cash admitted to feeling embarrassed for the next few years. But he stated that that is no more the case, given that Nadal has become one of the greatest tennis players ever.
"I went back in the locker room and the guys just shook their heads and said, 'You just lost to a 14-year-old'. I was dripping with sweat and said, 'This kid is really good'. They said, 'He's a 14-year-old'. I said, 'He's almost 15, he's really good'. So I was embarrassed for a few years but after 14 French Opens, I'm not so embarrassed," Cash concluded.
Rafael Nadal's participation at French Open 2023 is still in doubt
Rafael Nadal hasn't played a single match since January 18, when he suffered a hip injury at the 2023 Australian Open. While Nadal was supposed to return in March, a failure to recover saw him withdraw from all clay-court tournaments leading up to the French Open.
The tennis world was already raising concerns about the Spaniard's chances to win a record-extending 15th French Open title without any match practice. And a recent video has added to the fans' worries.
At one of his practice sessions, Nadal was seen leaning on his knees in discomfort before walking away. It remains to be seen whether the 14-time champion will make the trip for Roland Garros this year.