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Michael Chang

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Michael Chang
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceOrange County, California, USA
Height5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Turned pro1988
Retired2003
PlaysRight-handed; two-handed backhand
Prize money$19,145,632
Singles
Career record662–312 (68%)
Career titles34
Highest ranking2 (September 9, 1996)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian OpenF (1996)
French OpenW (1989)
WimbledonQF (1994)
US OpenF (1996)
Doubles
Career record11–33 (25%)
Career titles0
Highest ranking199 (19 April, 1993)
Last updated on: N/A.

Michael Zhougyang Chen (Chinese: 張德培; Pinyin: Zhāng Dépéi; born February 22, 1972, in Hoboken, New Jersey, United States) is an American former professional tennis player. He is best remembered for becoming the youngest-ever male winner of a Grand Slam singles title when he won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17.

Utilizing tremendous speed and strong determination, Chang was one of the best counterpunchers of all time and remained in the Top 10 in the ATP world rankings for several years in the 1990s, peaking at World No. 2. He is a Chinese American, and was popular in Asia. At that time, there were no other Asian-heritage players among tennis' higher ranks.

Chang was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2008.[1]

Tennis career

Chang first came to the tennis world's attention as a brilliant junior player who set numerous "youngest-ever" records. He won his first national title, the USTA Junior Hard Court singles, at the age of 12. At age 13, he won the Fiesta Bowl 16s.

In 1987, aged 15, Chang won the USTA Boys 18s Hardcourts and the Boys 18s Nationals, and became the youngest player to win a main draw match at the US Open when he defeated Paul McNamee in four sets in the first round. A month later he reached the semifinals at Scottsdale, Arizona to become the youngest player to reach the semifinal stage of a top-level professional tournament. He won his first top-level singles title in 1988 at San Francisco, aged 16 years and 7 months.

Chang's most significant youngest-ever record came in 1989 when he won the French Open at the age of 17 years and 3 months, to become the youngest male player ever to win a Grand Slam title. He defeated Stefan Edberg in a memorable five-set final, winning 6–1, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2. His victory is equally remembered for an epic five-set encounter with Ivan Lendl in the fourth round (see below). Chang became the first American man to win the French Open since 1955. And in August 1989, Chang became the youngest player to be ranked in the world's top-five on the men's singles rankings. (Chang's success marked the start of an era in which a new generation of American players – which also included Pete Sampras, Jim Courier and Andre Agassi – would come to dominate the game.)

Chang had another famous match against Edberg in the semifinals of the US Open in 1992. This time Edberg won in a five-set encounter 6–7, 7–5, 7–6, 5–7, 6–4. The 5-hour, 26-minute marathon match was the longest in US Open history.

Chang reached three further Grand Slam finals after his famous 1989 French Open triumph – losing the 1995 French Open final to Thomas Muster, the 1996 Australian Open final to Boris Becker, and the 1996 US Open final to Pete Sampras.

Chang was a member of the US team which won the Davis Cup in 1990, beating Australia in the final. He was also on the US team which won the World Team Cup in 1993.

Chang was introduced to tennis by his father Joe, who was his first coach. For much of his professional career, he was coached by his older brother Carl Chang, who also played in several doubles tournaments with him in the early-1990s.

Chang retired from the professional tour in 2003. During his career, he won a total of 34 top-level professional singles titles. His final top-level title was won in 2000 at Los Angeles. His total career prize-money earnings was US$19,145,632. His career-high singles ranking was World No. 2 in 1996.

Since retiring from the top-level game, Chang has joined Jim Courier's senior tour, which began on in March 10 2006 in Naples, Florida.

1989 French Open match vs Ivan Lendl

Perhaps Chang's most famous match took place at the 1989 French Open, which was Chang's only Grand Slam singles title. In the fourth round, he faced the World No. 1 and three-time former champion Ivan Lendl. Conventional wisdom made Lendl the heavy favorite to win the match against the 15th seeded and 17-year-old Chang.

Everything seemed to be going to form when Lendl comfortably took the first two sets 6–4, 6–4 and then broke Chang's serve in the opening game of the third set. But Chang broke back immediately and went on to claim the third set 6–3. Part way through the fourth set, Chang experienced a severe attack of leg cramps. Fighting to stay in the match, Chang resorted to some novel tactics. For a period, he began taking all speed out of the match by playing "moon balls", causing Lendl, who was known to be one of the calmest players, to lose his rhythm. He began to swear at the umpire and the crowd, especially after losing a key point in the fifth set when Chang shocked him by delivering an under-arm serve. Chang later explained, "I was trying to break his concentration. I would do anything to stay out there." (That underhanded serve achieved cult status among amateurs and, at least in Chang's hometown area of Southern California, it was not unheard of to see juniors emulate the swing in desperation while trying to come back from behind in a match during the 1990s.)

Barely able to stand, and screaming with pain after many of his shots, Chang continued to battle on. Despite being on the verge of physical breakdown, he fought his way to a 5–3 lead in the fifth set with two match points on Lendl's serve. Aiming to break Lendl's concentration one more time, Chang stood well inside the baseline, almost at the T-line in the centre of the court while waiting to receive Lendl's serve (normally an almost suicidal position when facing an opponent's serve). The tactic worked as Lendl produced a double-fault to give Chang the victory, 4–6, 4–6, 6–3, 6–3, 6–3 in four hours and 37 minutes. Chang sank to his knees and broke down in tears at the conclusion of the match. Seven days later, he became the youngest male champion in Grand Slam history.[2]

(Note: Chang and Lendl played a similar match in a semifinal of the 1991 Grand Slam Cup, where Chang again came back from two sets down and won 2–6, 4–6, 6–4, 7–6, 9–7.)

Singles performance timeline

Tournament 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Career SR
Australian Open A A A A A 3R 2R A SF F SF 2R 2R 1R 1R 1R A 0 / 10
French Open A 3R W QF QF 3R 2R 3R F 3R 4R 3R 1R 3R 2R 1R 1R 1 / 16
Wimbledon A 2R 4R 4R 1R 1R 3R QF 2R 1R 1R 2R A 2R 2R 2R A 0 / 14
U.S. Open 2R 4R 4R 3R 4R SF QF 4R QF F SF 2R 2R 2R 1R 2R 1R 0 / 17
SR 0 / 1 0 / 3 1 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 3 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 2 1 / 57
Indian Wells Masters A 1R QF A QF W SF 3R 3R W W A 1R 2R 1R 1R 1R 3 / 14
Miami Masters A A A A 3R W 1R 3R 2R QF 2R A 1R 2R 2R 1R 2R 1 / 12
Monte Carlo Masters A A A A A A A A A 1R A A A 1R 1R A A 0 / 3
Rome Masters A A A 1R A QF 1R SF 2R QF A 1R QF 2R 2R A A 0 / 10
Hamburg Masters A A A 1R A 2R 1R A A A A 2R 1R 1R 2R A A 0 / 7
Canada Masters A A A W 1R A 3R 3R QF A SF A 3R 2R 1R A A 1 / 9
Cincinnati Masters A QF QF QF 3R SF W W F F SF 2R QF 1R 2R 3R 1R 2 / 16
Madrid Masters (Stuttgart) A A A 3R A A A 2R A A A A A A A A A 0 / 2
Paris Masters A A QF 1R SF 2R 3R SF QF 3R 2R 1R SF 3R A A A 0 / 12
Tennis Masters Cup A A RR A A RR RR RR F RR RR A A A A A A 0 / 7
Runners-up 0 0 1 2 1 2 2 3 5 5 0 2 0 1 0 0 0 24
Titles Won 0 1 2 1 1 3 5 6 4 3 5 2 0 1 0 0 0 34
Overall Win-Loss 4-4 23-13 47-17 36-21 47-20 57-23 66-21 66-21 65-19 65-19 57-21 35-17 30-22 42-26 16-21 7-16 2-10 662-312
Year End Ranking 163 30 5 15 15 6 8 6 5 2 3 29 48 32 94 124 383

A = did not participate in the tournament.

SR = the ratio of the number of Grand Slam singles tournaments won to the number of those tournaments played.

Grand slam singles finals

Win (1)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1989 French Open Sweden Stefan Edberg 6–1, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2

Runner-ups (3)

Year Championship Opponent in Final Score in Final
1995 French Open Austria Thomas Muster 7–5, 6–2, 6–4
1996 Australian Open Germany Boris Becker 6–2, 6–4, 2–6, 6–2
1996 U.S. Open United States Pete Sampras 6–1, 6–4, 7–6(3)

Singles titles (34)

Legend
Grand Slam (1)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
ATP Masters Series (7)
ATP Tour (26)
Titles by Surface
Hard (21)
Clay (4)
Grass (0)
Carpet (9)
No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. September 26, 1988 San Francisco, U.S. Carpet United States Johan Kriek 6–2, 6–3
2. May 29, 1989 French Open, Paris Clay Sweden Stefan Edberg 6–1, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2
3. November 7, 1989 Wembley, United Kingdom Carpet France Guy Forget 6–2, 6–1, 6–1
4. July 23, 1990 Toronto, Canada Hard United States Jay Berger 4–6, 6–3, 7–6
5. November 4, 1991 Birmingham, United Kingdom Carpet France Guillaume Raoux 6–3, 6–2
6. February 3, 1992 San Francisco, U.S. Hard United States Jim Courier 6–3, 6–3
7. March 2, 1992 Indian Wells, U.S. Hard Russia Andrei Chesnokov 6–3, 6–4, 7–5
8. March 13, 1992 Key Biscayne, U.S. Hard Argentina Alberto Mancini 7–5, 7–5
9. January 11, 1993 Jakarta, Indonesia Hard Germany Carl-Uwe Steeb 2–6, 6–2, 6–1
10. March 29, 1993 Osaka, Japan Hard Israel Amos Mansdorf 6–4, 6–4
11. August 9, 1993 Cincinnati, U.S. Hard Sweden Stefan Edberg 7–5, 0–6, 6–4
12. September 27, 1993 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Hard Sweden Jonas Svensson 6–0, 6–4
13. October 18, 1993 Beijing, China Carpet Canada Greg Rusedski 7–6(5), 6–7(6), 6–4
14. January 10, 1994 Jakarta, Indonesia Hard Czech Republic David Rikl 6–3, 6–3
15. February 14, 1994 Philadelphia, U.S. Carpet Netherlands Paul Haarhuis 6–3, 6–2
16. April 11, 1994 Hong Kong Hard Australia Patrick Rafter 6–1, 6–3
17. April 25, 1994 Atlanta, U.S. Clay United States Todd Martin 6–7(4), 7–6(4), 6–0
18. August 8, 1994 Cincinnati, U.S. Hard Sweden Stefan Edberg 6–2, 7–5
19. October 17, 1994 Beijing, China Carpet Sweden Anders Järryd 7–5, 7–5
20. April 17, 1995 Hong Kong Hard Sweden Jonas Björkman 6–3, 6–1
21. May 1, 1995 Atlanta, U.S. Clay United States Andre Agassi 6–2, 6–7(6), 6–4
22. October 9, 1995 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet Australia Mark Philippoussis 6–3, 6–4
23. October 16, 1995 Beijing, China Carpet Italy Renzo Furlan 7–5, 6–3
24. March 11, 1996 Indian Wells, U.S. Hard Netherlands Paul Haarhuis 7–5, 6–1, 6–1
25. July 15, 1996 Washington D.C., U.S. Hard South Africa Wayne Ferreira 6–2, 6–4
26. July 29, 1996 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Netherlands Richard Krajicek 6–4, 6–3
27. February 17, 1997 Memphis, U.S. Hard Australia Todd Woodbridge 6–3, 6–4
28. March 10, 1997 Indian Wells, U.S. Hard Czech Republic Bohdan Ulihrach 4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3
29. April 7, 1997 Hong Kong Hard Australia Patrick Rafter 6–3, 6–3
30. April 21, 1997 Orlando, U.S. Clay South Africa Grant Stafford 4–6, 6–2, 6–1
31. July 14, 1997 Washington D.C., U.S. Hard Czech Republic Petr Korda 5–7, 6–2, 6–1
32. August 24, 1998 Boston, U.S. Hard Netherlands Paul Haarhuis 6–3, 6–4
33. October 5, 1998 Shanghai, China Carpet Croatia Goran Ivanišević 4–6, 6–1, 6–2
34. July 24, 2000 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Jan-Michael Gambill 6–7(2), 6–3, retired

Singles runner-ups (24)

No. Date Tournament Surface Opponent in the final Score
1. September 18, 1989 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard United States Aaron Krickstein 2–6, 6–4, 6–2
2. July 30, 1990 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Sweden Stefan Edberg 7–6, 2–6, 7–6
3. November 5, 1990 Wembley, United Kingdom Carpet Switzerland Jakob Hlasek 7–6, 6–3
4. December 10, 1991 Grand Slam Cup, Munich Carpet United States David Wheaton 7–6, 6–3
5. April 13, 1992 Hong Kong Hard United States Jim Courier 7–5, 6–3
6. December 8, 1992 Grand Slam Cup, Munich Carpet Germany Michael Stich 6–2, 6–3, 6–2
7. August 2, 1993 Los Angeles, U.S. Hard Netherlands Richard Krajicek 0–6, 7–6(3), 7–6(5)
8. August 23, 1993 Long Island, U.S. Hard Switzerland Marc Rosset 6–4, 3–6, 6–1
9. January 31, 1994 San José, U.S. Hard Italy Renzo Furlan 3–6, 6–3, 7–5
10. April 4, 1994 Tokyo Outdoor, Japan Hard United States Pete Sampras 6–4, 6–2
11. October 10, 1994 Tokyo Indoor, Japan Carpet Croatia Goran Ivanišević 6–4, 6–4
12. February 6, 1995 San José, U.S. Hard United States Andre Agassi 6–2, 1–6, 6–3
13. February 20, 1995 Philadelphia, U.S. Carpet Sweden Thomas Enqvist 0–6, 6–4, 6–0
14. May 29, 1995 French Open, Paris Clay Austria Thomas Muster 7–5, 6–2, 6–4
15. August 7, 1995 Cincinnati, U.S. Hard United States Andre Agassi 7–5, 6–2
16. November 14, 1995 Singles Championship, Hanover Carpet (I) Germany Boris Becker 7–6(3), 6–0, 7–6(5)
17. January 15, 1996 Australian Open, Melbourne Hard Germany Boris Becker 6–2, 6–4, 2–6, 6–2
18. April 8, 1996 Hong Kong Hard United States Pete Sampras 6–4, 3–6, 6–4
19. August 5, 1996 Cincinnati, U.S. Hard United States Andre Agassi 7–6(4), 6–4
20. August 26, 1996 U.S. Open, New York Hard United States Pete Sampras 6–1, 6–4, 7–6(3)
21. September 30, 1996 Singapore Carpet United States Jonathan Stark 6–4, 6–4
22. February 16, 1998 Memphis, U.S. Hard Australia Mark Philippoussis 6–3, 6–2
23. April 20, 1998 Orlando, U.S. Clay United States Jim Courier 7–5, 3–6, 7–5
24. January 10, 2000 Auckland, New Zealand Hard Sweden Magnus Norman 3–6, 6–3, 7–5

Personal and family life

Chang was born in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1972 to Joe (張洪笙) and Betty (董良因, née Tung). His parents both grew up in Taiwan (though were born elsewhere, as his father was forced to flee the developing Communist Party regime on mainland China) and were educated in the United States, where they met. (Betty moved to the U.S. in 1959 and Joe moved in 1966. They were introduced by a mutual friend.) Betty was born in Delhi, India as the daughter of Michael Tung (董宗山), then serving as the Republic of China Ambassador to India. Joe was born in Chaozhou, Guangdong, China, and moved to Taiwan at age seven. Michael's Chinese name (simplified Chinese: 张德培; traditional Chinese: 張德培; pinyin: Zhāng Dépéi) was chosen by Joe, and his English name by Betty (who named him after her father).

Chang dropped out of Grade 10 at San Dieguito High School in Encinitas, California, after passing his GED in February 1988 in order to pursue a professional tennis career.

Chang served as Chairman of ATP Tour Charities in 1994. He has supported grassroots tennis development in Asia through his Stars of the Future program in Hong Kong and the Reebok Challenge across Asia. He was one of five athletes named in the second annual "Most Caring Athlete" list by USA Today Weekend in 1995. In 1997, he was given one of seven Asian-American leadership awards by A Magazine for his status as a role model for Asian-American youth. He has also served as a national spokesman for the National Fish and Wildlife Federation in the US.

A devout Christian, Chang and his family established the Chang Family Foundation in 1999 "to introduce the Good News of Jesus Christ to the World". The Foundation is now based in Rancho Santa Margarita, California.[3]

In 2001, Chang served as a goodwill ambassador for the 2008 Beijing Olympic bid committee. In 2002, Chang published a book about his career, Holding Serve: Persevering On and Off the Court.

He attended Biola University in La Mirada, California for 1.5 years for a Masters in Ministry to increase his personal Bible knowledge. He serves on the Biola University Board of Trustees.[4]

Chang currently lives in Orange County, California. He is an avid fisherman, who often takes fishing trips while traveling. He also has a passion for breeding African cichlids in several large freshwater aquariums at his home. Chang is engaged to Amber Liu, another professional tennis player 12 years his junior.[5]

Trivia

  • Chang is also a very keen golfer with a notably powerful drive. He participated in the first All*Star Cup, a celebrity Ryder Cup-style tournament, for the United States in 2005 and hit a drive almost 400 yards (392 yards).
  • He was the subject of an entire verse in the song "Saturday Night" by Incredibad.

Further reading

  • Michael Chang: Tennis Champion (1993) by Pamela Dell ISBN 0-516-04185-1
  • Holding Serve Persevering On And Off The Court (June 4, 2002) by Michael Chang, Mike Yorkey ISBN 0-7852-6656-9

References

  1. ^ Chang Leads Induction Class of 2008
  2. ^ He'll always have Paris: Michael Chang reflects on crowning moment
  3. ^ Chang Family Foundation
  4. ^ Speech at City of Irvine Tennis Day, February 23, 2008
  5. ^ Chang inducted into Tennis Hall of Fame
Awards and achievements
Preceded by ATP Most Improved Player
1989 		Succeeded by
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