Pat Cash in the city on Wednesday. Picture by Pabitra Das

A precocious talent turned an enigma. That sums up Pat Cash, the 1987 Wimbledon champion. The youngest to win a Grand Prix title (at age 17), Cash contributed to Australia’s Davis Cup-winning campaign at 18. He won his country the Davis Cup again after three years, this time single-handedly against the powerful Swedes.

The biggest feather in the cap was acquired at the age of 21, when Cash destroyed Ivan Lendl to lift the glittering trophy at the All-England Club. Two Australian Open final appearances were sandwiched between the Wimbledon triumph, but that’s it.

Six career singles titles and five final appearances are all that the now-retired Cash has to show for. A slew of injuries and surgeries (he had four of them) didn’t help, but were there other reasons why he couldn’t do justice to his talent?

In Calcutta to conduct the BTA’s special three-day clinic, the Aussie coach took time off to answer The Telegraph’s queries.

The following are excerpts

Q Considering the talent you had, would you say you under-achieved as a tennis player?

A No, I don’t think so. When I started playing tennis, I had no expectation of winning a Grand Slam. When I took up the sport seriously, I set myself two goals: to win Wimbledon and the Davis Cup. I achieved both those targets and played two more great Grand Slam finals but unfortunately ended up on the losing side. In a way, I over-achieved, especially if you take into account the number of injuries I had in my career.

Those two goals you are talking about were achieved by the time you were 21. Did success come too early in your life?

Success can never come too early or too late. You can’t put a date to when you will succeed. The important thing is to grab the opportunity whenever one comes along the way.

How did you feel going into the 1987 Wimbledon Championship?

Very positive, very confident. I was in the midst of a rare injury-free period, playing perhaps my best tennis. Only Boris Becker could have stopped me. He had won the previous two Wimbledon titles and I had great difficulty handling his big game. When he was surprisingly knocked out early (by Peter Doohan), I knew it would be my year.

If you were to pinpoint three or four major attributes to be a Grand Slam champion, what would those be?

Physical ability, mental strength, technical solidity and luck.

How do you explain winning just one tournament after lifting the big one at Big W in 1987?

There’s no doubt that my motivation level dropped after winning Wimbledon. It happens in every sport, ask Tiger Woods. Anyone who says he’s got the same motivation, the same urge to win after fulfilling his primary goals, is lying. You cannot maintain the same intensity, the same focus day in and day out year after year in an individual sport like tennis. It was more difficult for me as I had a wife and kids at home. I didn’t like staying away from them too long.

You turned pro at 17. Was it a case of burning out in four-five years?

I was a big boy, very fit and athletic. That’s why I could compete with adults from a young age. I really pushed my body to the limit. Don’t think I could have tried harder to keep myself fit and healthy. You know I was among the first sportspersons to try out amino acid, an energy supplement which is used very commonly now. I brought modern scientific ideas into my training methods. Yet, I couldn’t prevent those injuries. They came in a rush? it took a long time to recover after those surgeries. It was something beyond my control. I thought I was some kind of a superman, but I realised at the end of the day I wasn’t.

If you were to start all over again tomorrow, what would you do differently?

I probably over-trained during my career, so that’s one area where I would be more careful. I would also have to change my technique so that I can adapt my style to the more power-oriented game of these modern guys. And, maybe, play a few more tournaments. In my playing days, I didn’t have too much interest in the minor tournaments. I used them as build-ups for the bigger events.

You had a fragile temper. Wouldn’t you also try to control that more?

Getting angry and arguing over a horrible line call isn’t necessarily a bad thing. In my case, it helped me get fired up more often than not. The only match in my career I lost after losing my cool on court was the one against American Bill Scanlon at the US Open. I got cheated so badly by the chair umpire that day, I just didn’t want to continue. The bottomline is, you must know what’s good for you. Of course, too much of anything is not good, finding the right balance is important.

Coming to Davis Cup, you won two of them for Australia but missed out in 1987 when you lost to India at home. How big a disappointment was that?

It was extremely disappointing, considering it came a few months after my Wimbledon triumph and that we were the clear favourites. The knee was bothering me, so I couldn’t practise enough and decided against playing singles. We all thought Wally (Masur) would do the job for us, but he was made to play a different game than he was used to by our captain (Neale Fraser). Wally failed to win and that cost us dear. Neale was one of the most successful Davis Cup captains, but in this case he made a mistake. After the tie was over, I felt quite guilty.

A final question: Would you like to be a tennis player in your next life?

I wouldn’t mind being a sportsman but I would rather be in a team game. Tennis is a hard sport. It takes a lot out of your body, affects family life. The reality is, very few people make a decent living out of this game. My 19-year-old son wants to be a tennis pro, but it’s absolutely his own choice. I wouldn’t push him to it.