Pat Cash's tennis forecast for 2016

Pat Cash 10:39 31/12/2015
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  • Can Rafa Nadal win another Grand Slam in 2016?

    Sport360 asked former Wimbledon champion and Mubadala World Tennis Championship ambassador, Pat Cash, to make some predictions on what 2016 may hold for the six stars of the Abu Dhabi tournament. Here’s what the Aussie legend had to say…

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    STAN WAWRINKA

    He had a great year last year. He used to be an outside chance, I think now he has a real chance at every grand slam. Wimbledon is the one where he hasn’t performed well at, I don’t quite understand why, he’s actually got a good game for the grass. So he could breakthrough there. But I think we’ll see him in a grand slam final again this year, at least.

    RAFAEL NADAL

    I’d think he’ll do better this year in general. I think the French Open is obviously one that he can still win. It will be interesting to see how he goes. Possibly there’s a Slam for him this year but you just don’t know. He didn’t have a great year last year but his confidence is starting to come back, especially the French Open, I think he’ll be a real threat there. I wouldn’t put him favourite, but he has such a great record, even if he’s not playing great he’ll still be a real danger. He’s a potential French Open champion there, but we’ll have to see how the form goes.

    DAVID FERRER

    The Olympics and everything coming up, it’s a tough year for the players. David has performed really well at all the grand slams. I think he’s one of those guys who can take the opportunity when it comes. If it props up there, he’ll be ready to jump on it. Will he end the year in the top 10 again? He’ll go very close again. It’s amazing how well he’s done. His consistency is his strength. Every year he’s hard to beat and he finished off the season quite well last year so I’ve got a feeling he’ll do okay.

    JO-WILFRIED TSONGA

    For Jo it’s all about injuries. If he can stay physically fit, he has massive power and is a real danger to all the players. His consistency has been up and down because of these injuries. It really makes it really tough to get into form and get physically and mentally hardened and that’s always been his issue. Where he’d play well then he’d be out for three or six months. I know exactly what that’s like because I was like that myself, it’s very hard to stay consistent. But he’s another player who is a danger.

    KEVIN ANDERSON

    He’s one of the success stories of last year. I remember seeing him five or six years ago thinking he’s just a big guy with a serve and he’s going to fall by the wayside like a lot of these players do. But he’s a very very good athlete, extremely hard-worker. Obviously has a massive serve and a big forehand.

    Tactically he’s improving all the time and he’s getting more and more confidence. As he develops his confidence, he’s becoming a real danger man who can knock just about anybody off now. I think beating Murray at the US Open was big for him. Murray didn’t play his best tennis but he wasn’t allowed to.

    Anderson is a real role model for a lot of kids because he’s showing that if you work hard and you’ve got a big weapon, you keep improving it – he’s a big guy and moves really well for a big guy. He was not far away from beating Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon. He’s a confident guy and I see him pushing into grand slam semi-finals.

    MILOS RAONIC

    Another guy who had a year interrupted with injuries. He’s had a bit of time so I think he’s been careful to get himself back. You’d think naturally he’d be most dangerous on grass, because of his serve – he will be dangerous there – but when the courts are quick, sometimes those big guys need a little bit more time to get to the ball. I think he’s dangerous on every surface. You’d think somewhere like the US Open where he can get a lot of bounce off his serve… I wouldn’t expect too much of him early on, I think he needs a few matches to get going.

    But he grew up playing on hard court, he can start getting pretty dangerous at Indian Wells and Miami, where the ball is bouncing. His game is more than his serve. He has a massive forehand, a very good backhand, his volleys are a work in progress, his attacking play, but he’s quite competent around the net, his technique is quite good. He’s just a real danger with that serve. With a serve like that, it can get ugly tennis but he wins a lot of matches that way and that’s what it’s about – winning matches.

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