Julian Cash is not the only professional tennis player to have been an Albion fan (Leslie Godfree, who hit the first serve ever on Wimbledon’s Centre Court in 1922, was also a supporter), but he’s certainly the most decorated.
With 43 career titles under his belt including 10 at the highest ATP level, all of them in doubles as opposed to singles, the 29-year-old who grew up in Fulking is a man at the top of his game.
Last year Cash won the Wimbledon men’s doubles title alongside his regular partner Lloyd Glasspool, becoming the first British pair in the process to do so since 1936.
This week he’s been back at SW19, once more alongside Glasspool, doing his level best to retain the title they clinched 12 months ago.
Alas, the number three seeds only went as far as the quarter-finals this time, losing 6-2 7-6 to Marcelo Arevalo of Spain and Mate Pavic of Croatia on Court 2 on Wednesday.
Having battled his way up the rankings over the years, surviving all the pitfalls that come with being a professional tennis player – injuries, drops in form, the outwardly alluring yet in reality brutal play/train/hotel/airport treadmill of the tour – Cash, an Albion fan since our days at Withdean Stadium, is nevertheless enjoying the fruits of his lifelong labours.
In fact the only downside at present is that he rarely gets to attend Albion matches due to the hectic nature of the global tennis calendar.
“That was the good thing about coming up as a player and us not being in the Prem yet – lots of home games on a Tuesday night!” says Cash with a smile. “Those were the ones I could always make.
“Then we won promotion, and things started happening with me, and it became more difficult. I had a season ticket at the Amex for four seasons when I was a teenager, but then I had to let it go.
“My dad had been a season ticket holder before me, and that’s how it started for myself and my brother. My dad was always adamant that you support the club where you’re from. It was a family thing and it was something I loved as a teenager.
“With sport, when you’re coming up, you make so many sacrifices, like missing things on weekends. As a teenager, in tennis, that’s often when you play. So the memory of those Tuesday night games will always be special for me. They were unreal.”
Next up for Cash, and Glasspool, is North America where the pair will play in a succession of tournaments leading up to the US Open which begins at the end of August.
“The confidence comes from the results we’ve had, and that’s a nice place to be,” he added.
“Some people may fear you. Some people want to beat you even more. We’ve played so many people now over the past couple of years that they know how we play, our strengths and weaknesses and so on. But it’s a good position to be in. You’re there to be shot at, and that’s a reflection of how well we’ve done.”