Newport Beach Tennis : Cash Beats Amritraj With Power, Passes

With his stunning net play and powerful passing shots, Pat Cash gave the crowd of 1,500 what it was hoping to see Thursday in the Hartmarx tennis tournament at the John Wayne Tennis Club in Newport Beach.

But Cash of Australia, the Wimbledon champion, didn’t quite stroll through his quarterfinal match against Vijay Amritraj of India, whom Cash finally defeated, 6-2, 4-6, 6-3.

Cash, 22, spent much of the first set using his powerful forehand, keeping Amritraj in a defensive position at the baseline.

Cash broke Amritraj to take a 4-2 lead, then pressured his opponent with net attacks and passing shots.

In the second set, Amritraj began to answer Cash’s net play with some winning shots of his own--at the net and down the line. Cash seemed to lose his concentration, tossing many groundstrokes into the net.

But Cash held Amritraj in the third set, passing to Amritraj’s backhand and frustrating him at the net.

The two men exchanged several volley battles, but Cash, with his delicate drop shots and keen slicing, held off Amritraj.

At 5-3, Cash served two straight points to 40-30, match point. Cash served, and a cross-court rally resulted in Amritraj slicing a backhand wide.

“I’ve never played him before,� said Amritraj, 34 and unranked. ‘He’s extremely quick and extremely strong. But to me, the opponent never bothers me. It’s me and my play that I’m caring about.�

In an earlier match, Richey Reneberg of Southern Methodist University defeated Scott Davis of Santa Monica, 6-0, 4-6, 6-3.

Reneberg, the NCAA’s third-ranked singles player, used a powerful serve and down-the-line passing shots to overpower Davis in the first set.

But Davis, ranked 17th in the world, adjusted to Reneberg’s pace, outwitting him throughout the second set with drop shots and slices. At 3-2, Davis broke Reneberg with four straight points.

But Reneberg found his first-set power in the third, keeping Davis at the baseline with passing shots and overheads.

Though Davis held serve through 3-2, Reneberg broke him on the next game as Davis double-faulted and then missed an easy dink opportunity at game point.

Reneberg held serve on the next game, taking a 5-2 advantage.

But Davis wasn’t finished, and held serve on the next game by rushing the net, forcing Reneberg long, wide and in the net.

At 5-3, Reneberg took control with strong serving and powerful forehand passing shots. At match point, 40-30, Reneberg’s serve smacked off Davis’ racket and into the net.

“A few of the points could have gone either way,� Davis said. “But he really kept me on the defensive, hitting some great shots.�

Quarterfinal action continues today with Kevin Curren and Vitas Gerulaitis playing at 8 p.m. and John Fitzgerald taking on Phil Dent at 6:30 p.m. Dent replaces Stanford graduate Jimmy Grabb, who sprained his ankle Wednesday.

Gerulaitis, who was originally scheduled to play Curren today, missed his plane, causing the rescheduling.