It's a Cash jackpot for Sussex tennis star in UK Pro Classic

The Burgess Hill star has been competing at the inaugural tournament at St. George’s Hill Lawn Tennis Club and sealed an impressive fifth-placed finish on Sunday, beating Billy Harris 10-4 in a super tie-break to end his week on a high.

The 23-year-old has competed at five of the overall six weeks in Weybridge and accumulated valuable prize money, winning his final four games in Classic Week after a gruelling 34 matches.

Qualifying for Classic Week involved postponing a holiday but Cash was relishing the prospect of being reunited with friends in sunny Portugal.

“It’s been brilliant - some of these people I haven’t seen or played for a long time, so it’s been great to have everyone back and the atmosphere off the court has been great,” he said.

“It’s been absolutely fantastic and I’ve loved every minute of it. Everyone’s built up relationships, and being around everyone for a month and a half has enhanced that.

“The atmosphere's been fantastic so it’s been a lot of fun.

“I’m going on a little holiday tomorrow! I feel like I need that, so I’m going to get out of here for four days before I come back and train.

“I’m going out to Portugal with a couple of mates, which should be good fun and will be the break I needed!

“They’re already there now - I would have gone earlier if I hadn’t qualified for this but I’ve missed the first four days.

“But I knew that at the start, and I’m more than happy to miss those four days to be here, for sure."

Cash was one of 24 leading players competing in the widely-billed Premier League of tennis, playing alongside the likes of Naomi Broady and Eden Silva in the women’s draw and James Ward and Liam Broady in the men’s.

The innovative format was devised by Andy Murray’s coach, Jamie Delgado, with players on Classic Week being split into two boxes of six ahead of finals weekend.

Brighton’s Sonay Kartal was also in action at the event but was unable to finish her week on a high, losing 7-5, 6-2 against the more experienced Sarah-Beth Grey in her final match.

And that meant Kartal, just 18, finished eighth overall after a promising week in Weybridge.

Cash, however, won his fourth consecutive super tie-break on Sunday and bounced back from losing his first three after a trip to his psychologist, Richard De Souza.

Cash was thrilled with how his game was developing and while the future’s uncertain, says he’s in a good place.

“I haven’t lost one since I went to see my psychologist - I’m feeling a lot more comfortable and confident after that,” he added.

“Mentally it’s been really positive to be able to turn that around midweek, so it’s been a really strong finish and I’m delighted with it.

“There aren’t really any events on the schedule so I’ll just have to see what comes and take it week by week.”

* 12 of the UK’s top women and men qualified through the UK Pro Series for the UK Pro Classic - widely billed as the Premier League of Tennis. For more information, visit www.ukproseries.com.