Ismaning terminus - Pat Cash and Brandon Nakashima
With the appearance at the ATP Challenger tournament in Ismaning, Pat Cash and junior ace Brandon Nakashima's longer trip to Europe comes to an end.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Oct 20, 2020, 11:02 pm
Brandon Nakashima is a friendly young man who is excellent at playing tennis. And who has seen a lot of new things in the past week. His coach is to blame for this: Pat Cash. The Australian is making a stop with his protégé at the ATP Challenger tournament in Ismaning this week, it will be the last of a long journey. They've been working together for six, no seven months, says Cash, while standing in front of the hall entrance in a t-shirt in bad autumn temperatures. And the recent past has been spent in Europe. On sand, a surface on which Nakashima had not competed in a tournament until the French Open.
Brandon learned a lot, about the country and its people, also from a culinary point of view. Cash is particularly fond of driving through the smaller towns in the south of France. Nakashima, who grew up with the ever-wide highways in Florida, had problems with the narrow streets as a passenger.
The name Brandon Nakashima should be known to German viewers since this year's US Open. There the 19-year-old played against Alexander Zverev in round two. And won a branch against the eventual finalist.
Cash encourages double play
"It was a very close match," said Cash in Ismaning, looking back. “Zverev served very strongly in a very important situation. That was brave of him. We had a tactic and Brandon implemented it pretty well given his inexperience. We were very satisfied. And took away a few things that we need to work on. "
In Ismaning, the first round of the singles was already over, Nakashima lost to the Italian Matteo Viola in three sets. No surprise for cash. The 1997 Wimbledon champion never tires of emphasizing how strong the field is in the fourth edition of the challenger there.
In doubles, Nakashima is still in the tableau with Sebastian Korda, the son of the former Australian Open winner Petr Korda. Playing doubles is important for his player, says Cash, and there is still a lot to be improved on volleyball.
With the appearance in Ismaning, the European trip for the Tandem Cash-Nakashima is over. You will see where cash goes, not only does it have a US passport, but also a residence in London. Only one thing will not happen in the coming weeks: That Pat Cash will travel to his Australian homeland. He does not agree with the anti-COVID-19 measures there.