Wimbledon doubles champion Julian Cash once donned the role of Novak Djokovic on television when he was a teenager. Ten years ago, he played the role of Djokovic in an advertisement for the Australia and New Zealand Bank, because he bore an uncanny physical resemblance to the Serb.
One half of the first all-British pair to win the men’s doubles at the tournament since 1936, he told Argus newspaper: “One of my friends was working for an agency and they had asked him if he knew anyone who played tennis at a high level and looked vaguely like him, so he put me forward.”
“When I watch the advert, I find it’s pretty obvious that it’s me, but I guess I do look a little bit like him from a distance,” he said.
BBC’s Clare Balding too noticed the striking resemblance of their pair. “You can see why Julian Cash has had work as a double for Novak Djokovic. “There is definitely a similarity, and it might be something that he adds to his repertoire on a more regular basis.”
The pair — Lloyd Glasspool, being his partner—became richer by £680,000. Glasspool told the broadcasters that Cash wants to buy a new motorbike with parts of the cash prize. “I’ve just been looking. That’s all I’ll say. I mean, I have one. I’ve had it for [a] long time, and I’ve been using it to get to Queen’s, Eastbourne, and here a little bit. It’s been good for the traffic, so I might have a look at that,” he said.
Julian Cash (left) and Lloyd Glasspool beat Australian-Dutch duo of Rinky Hijikata and David Pel 6-2, 7-6 (3) in 83 minutes. (AP Photo)
Cash, who with his partner have been on a red-hot winning streak, added: “We had two goals this year – one was to make it to Turin [for the ATP Finals] and the other was to win a slam. To do it here, it couldn’t mean more.”
In a nail-biting final, the fifth seeds defeated the Australian-Dutch duo of Rinky Hijikata and David Pel 6-2, 7-6 (3) in 83 minutes. “It still feels like we have got a match tomorrow,” said Cash. “We’ve been playing so well recently, winning so many matches. It’s so special but it hasn’t sunk in yet,” added Cash, after becoming the first all-British pair to win the men’s doubles title since Pat Hughes and Raymond Tuckey in 1936.
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British players such as Jonny Marray, Neal Skupski and Henry Patten have tasted success in the men’s doubles in recent years, but with foreign partners. “The fact so many [Britons] do well almost takes away from what’s being achieved in doubles,” said Cash. “There has been a British winner here the past few years so it almost looks normal. I wish there was more press on doubles tennis. There is a lot of personalities out there that people would love. But all we can do is keep our heads down and play as best we can.”
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
