Former Grand Slam champion Pat Cash was in Abu Dhabi for the Mubadala World Tennis Championships. The exhibition has some elite talent with Rafael Nadal, Stan Wawrinka, David Ferrer, and Milos Raonic all competing in the semifinals. Whilst at the event, the Australian was interviewed by Sport360 and discussed the likes of Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal.
Cash Believes Stan Has A Chance At The Slams
The tennis world witnessed Stan Wawrinka getting out of Roger Federer’s shadow in 2014. The Swiss number two won his first major at the 2014 Australian Open over an injury-plagued Rafael Nadal, but the injury to the Spaniard cannot take away his brilliant performances when capturing the title. 2015 witnessed the Swiss shock the world when he won his second major. He played the match of his life and defeated Novak Djokovic to win the French Open, denying the Serb the Career Grand Slam.
Cash believes that at the Grand Slams, Wawrinka always has a chance. "In the Slams? He was often an outsider, I think now he has a real chance at every Grand Slam. Wimbledon is the one where he hasn't performed well, I don't quite understand why, his game suits well to the grass. So he could do great things there. But I think we'll see him in a Grand Slam final again this year, at least.”
Cash Skeptical About Nadal’s French Open Chances
Nadal is known as the King of Clay and for good reason. The Spaniard has won 19 Masters 1000 titles on clay and has won the lone clay major, the French Open, an astounding nine times. Nadal has also dominated the smaller clay events, winning Barcelona and Hamburg multiple times as well. Despite the success though, Cash isn’t a firm believer that Nadal is still the favorite however.
"I think he can still win the Roland Garros obviously. Maybe he will win a Slam this year but you never know. At the French Open I would not put him as the favourite, but he is a real danger there. It depends on his form."