First of all, we want to make it clear that all of us come out with wrong predictions every now and then, but when a huge legend such as Pat Cash has such a blunder… well, it is hard not to have a good laugh.
The 1987 Wimbledon champion and former world no.4, wrote a quite aggressive article back in 2007 saying that “[Serena] Williams is lost cause” and she “will never return to the top again.“
In his article (Times online), the Australian was criticizing Serena for some statements saying that he couldn’t see her back to the top “The only players I can recall who let things slip, only to climb back to the top, were Andre Agassi and Jennifer Capriati. Williams should ask herself if she has the same dedication. And is she prepared to make the sacrifices? The answer is obvious.”
Pat looked certain that Serena couldn’t focus anymore “Williams said she was an actress. She also got involved in the fashion world and seemed to love every second of it. Good on her. She is entitled to do whatever she wants, and if it made her happy, what more could she ask?
Everybody knows she and Venus had no real choice when their father, Richard, decided that much of their childhood would be spent hitting tennis balls. Who can be surprised that this promotes a desire to do something different? But to make such a crass statement on her arrival in Australia was an insult to Amelie Mauresmo and Maria Sharapova, who have risen to the top of the game in her absence.”
Cash: I do not expect Serena to go far in this (2007) AO
Pat added, “I still don’t expect too many upsets before the quarter-finals, but neither do I expect Serena Williams, currently the world’s 81st-ranked player, with eight Americans above her in the rankings, to be in the mix at the sharp end of the tournament.”
Serena won the Australian Open that year annihilating Sharapova in the final (6-1 6-2) and from that moment on the American won 12 Grand Slams… ouch.
Quite a miss Pat!
| SHE DIDN’T HAVE A BAD RUN in 2007… Did she? |
| MARIA IS NOW USED TO THIS… SERENA AS WELL |
| STILL GREAT RESPECT FOR PAT! |
 |
