Aussie tennis legend unearths Slingsby secret

1 year ago 64

Australian tennis fable Pat Cash was an improbable spectator astatine past weekend's SailGP halt successful Dubai, with the 1987 Wimbledon champion witnessing countryman Tom Slingsby and his unit propulsion disconnected a triumph successful singular circumstances.

Speaking to Wide World of Sports, Cash explained that helium was successful the Middle East for a abstracted commitment, launching a Legends Tour mentation of the Laver Cup.

Purely by chance, the Australian Sail GP squad was made alert that Cash was successful municipality and invited him down to conscionable them, commercialized grooming secrets, and springiness him immoderate penetration into however the fastest sailing boats successful the satellite are powered.

Cash was dazzled, peculiarly aft learning the exertion being utilized by the 9 crews was close connected the cutting edge.

"It's truly funny, a mate of excavation here, he's into this, helium follows the SailGP, and I was connected the telephone to him and helium said 'look, the lone manual happening they bash is 1 portion of rope, that's the aged schoolhouse sailing, everything other is technology', I said 'what?' and helium said 'yeah, this 1 feline holds a spot of rope, that's astir it', everything other is this good technology, doing this and adjusting this, and it's a full antithetic shot game," Cash said.

"I benignant of similar that. You person to support up of it and that's what I do, I'm a spot of a fanatic astir trying to enactment up of it and knowing the latest technology, that's what I emotion doing, it's a spot of a passionateness of mine."

Cash got his archetypal penetration into sailing via one of his champion mates who lives successful Bermuda, with the tennis champion visiting the Caribbean land portion America's Cup contender Oracle was successful grooming there.

During that travel helium met Australian sailor Kinley Fowler, who was portion of Team Oracle and has besides been a mainstay for Australia since SailGP's inception.

Fowler is simply a grinder for Slingsby's Team Australia crew, doing the carnal grunt enactment that has helped them to 2 bid championships and the play 3 bid lead.

Cash said helium admired the grooming required to beryllium 1 of sailing's elite and said determination were similarities betwixt however those athletes and the world's champion tennis players prepare themselves, some physically and mentally.

"Certainly seeing however hard Kinley's worked and you spot however acceptable the guys are... And yeah, it's the attraction to absorption and dealing with pressure, tennis players mightiness beryllium playing nether unit for 3 hours oregon 4 hours oregon whatever, but we're not getting a vessel coming consecutive astatine us, the worse we tin person is simply a tennis ball," Cash said.

"I realised however hard these guys enactment and however speedy and agile they've got to beryllium and however beardown they person to be, truthful I was truly impressed by it and of people this is the week to week oregon period to period mentation of the America's Cup isn't it.

"I'm a large instrumentality of their quality arsenic athletes, that's the happening that comes across, their absorption and their attraction to detail. It's truly awesome I've gotta say.

"And the good tuning, each the small things, I didn't realise however overmuch they do, the trimming, I don't adjacent cognize what fractional the things are called, going up and down. The grinding, that's the carnal stuff, I tin recognize that."

While speaking to the Australian team, Cash besides unearthed Slingsby's inheritance arsenic an elite inferior tennis player.

If not for a alteration successful his sporting absorption arsenic a teenager, the Olympic golden medallist whitethorn person been connected the ATP Tour implicit the past 2 decades, alternatively than carving retired a legendary sailing legacy.

"He told maine immoderate of the tournaments helium played and the things helium was doing, and I was similar 'sheesh, helium indispensable person been capable to play'," Cash said.

"He said helium hadn't played forever, but helium said helium took that subject erstwhile helium gave up the tennis and got successful to sailing, helium took the aforesaid subject of getting up and doing 2 sessions a time and each that sorts of stuff, into his sailing. So it was truly chill gathering him and conscionable getting a consciousness for it."

For a regular dose of the champion of the breaking quality and exclusive contented from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!