From scrambling to gain entry into tournaments to finishing the season with a record-setting 10 titles, British doubles team Julian Cash and Henry Patten made a stunning impact on the ATP Challenger Tour this year.
“It’s been a bit of a blur but we’ve had a couple days at home and I think it’s set in a little bit,” Patten told ATPTour.com. “A pretty crazy accomplishment, surpassing all of our expectations for sure. It feels like not that long ago we were trying to hustle our way into some Challengers over the summer.”
In May, Cash and Patten were ranked outside the Top 300 in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Rankings. After receiving a wild card into the Surbiton Challenger, their season started to change course. Despite never teaming at the Challenger level before, Cash and Patten collected their maiden Challenger title on the grass courts of Surbiton. They didn’t stop there.
The duo won titles on all three surfaces this season, including a surge on the North American hard courts, where they collected six titles: Granby, Columbus, Fairfield, Las Vegas, Charlottesville, and Drummondville.
With time running out on the season, Cash and Patten were inching closer to surpassing the Challenger doubles titles record, which was set in 2012 by twin brothers from Thailand, Sanchai and Sonchat Ratiwatana. At the Andria Challenger in November, the Britons claimed their record-breaking crown and then finished the season on a strong note at the Maia Challenger, where they captured their 10th title and extended their match-winning streak to 12.
“I believed that we could go a long way, but maybe not so quickly,” Cash said.
“We both had success on the doubles court apart from each other, we were fortunate to pair when we did. I couldn’t have imagined the six months we’ve had. Six months ago, breaking records and playing the Australian Open was definitely not on the table.”
The British duo went from playing mostly ITF Futures events to breaking Challenger Tour-records in the span of six months. A few of their 10 titles hold a special place in their hearts, including their first crown, which came on home soil.
“Our first title in Surbiton sticks out because that was really out of blue,” Patten said. “We accepted a last-minute wild card and it was our first Challenger. To win that one, it kind of started this whole crazy journey. Granby was special too, our first tournament after grass, it gave us a lot of belief for the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Tennis – ATP World Tour…