Michael Chang

Michael Chang

Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Orange County, California, USA
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Turned pro	1988
Retired	2003
Plays	Right-handed; two-handed backhand
Prize money	$19,145,632 10th All-time leader in earnings
Singles
Career record	662–312 (68%)
Career titles	34
Highest ranking	2 (September 9, 1996)
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open	F (1996)
French Open	W (1989)
Wimbledon	QF (1994)
US Open	F (1996)
Doubles
Career record	11–33 (25%)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	199 (April 19, 1993)
Last updated on: N/A.

Michael Te-Pei Chang (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.

Known for his on-court speed and fighting spirit, Chang is considered by many observers to have been one of the best tennis counterpunchers of all time. He remained in the Top 10 of the ATP world rankings for several years in the 1990s, peaking at World No. 2. He was very popular in Asia.

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

Tennis career

Chang first came to the tennis world's attention as an outstanding 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. Aged 13, he won the Fiesta Bowl 16s. Two years later, 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 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 met Edberg in the semifinals of the US Open in 1992, this time Edberg winning in a five-set encounter 6–7, 7–5, 7–6, 5–7, 6–4. The 5-hour, 26-minute match was the longest in US Open history. Chang reached three further Grand Slam finals after his 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. In the 1995 French Open, he defeated Michael Stich and then two-time defending champion Sergi Bruguera in the semifinals in straight sets. In both the 1996 Australian and U.S. Opens, he defeated Andre Agassi in the semifinals in straight sets; a win over Sampras at the U.S. Open would have made Chang the number one player in the world. In the 1997 U.S. Open, he was the odds-on favorite to win after Sampras was upset by Petr Korda; however, Chang lost to eventual champion Patrick Rafter in the semifinals in straight sets.

Chang was a key member of the US team which won the Davis Cup in 1990. In the semifinals at Austria, his dramatic comeback from two-sets down against Horst Skoff (3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3) led the US into its first Davis Cup final since 1984. Chang would go on to defeat Darren Cahill in straight sets as the US defeated Australia in the final. He was also on the US team which won the World Team Cup in 1993. His best performance in the year-end singles championship came in 1995, when he defeated Muster, Jim Courier and then shockingly dominated Pete Sampras in the semifinals before losing in the final to Boris Becker. He was the first player to be beaten by Roger Federer in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, at the Australian Open in 2000.

Chang was introduced to tennis by his father Joe, who was his first coach. During his rise in 1989 (including his French Open title), he was coached by Jose Higueras. 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, following his US Open finals performance. He was a year-end top-ten player for six consecutive years in the 1990s (1992-1997), a feat matched in the decade only by Pete Sampras. He is one of a few players to win ATP titles in three different decades, and his three Indian Wells Masters championships (1992, 1996, 1997) are an ATP record, equaled only by Roger Federer.

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

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, reigning Australian Open champion, and three-time former French Open 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, and was on the verge of retiring from the match. Up 2-1 in the fifth set, Chang walked towards the chair umpire to concede the match, reaching the service line when he felt "an unbelievable conviction in my heart" not to give up, and subsequently made it his goal to finish the match win or lose. 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", and also began to go for more winners in order to shorten the points. The success of these tactics caused 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 (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, a victory that inspired fellow American peers Pete Sampras, Jim Courier, and Andre Agassi to subsequently win Grand Slams.

(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.)

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 of China 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).

After moving from Hoboken, New Jersey to Placentia, CA, the Changs' moved to Encinitas, CA.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.

A devout Christian, Chang's faith was first brought to the spotlight after his 1989 French Open championship, when upon winning, declared "I thank the Lord Jesus Christ, because without Him, I am nothing." 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.

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.

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.

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. On October 18, 2008, Chang married Amber Liu, another professional tennis player who is 12 years younger than Chang.

On May 3, 2009, Chang was honored by the Los Angeles Chinese Historical Society of Southern California in "Celebrating Chinese Americans in Sports".

Records

• These records were attained in the Open Era of tennis.

Tournament	Years	Record accomplished	Player tied
French Open	1989	Youngest Grand Slam champion	Stands alone
French Open	1989	Youngest French Open champion	Stands alone
Indian Wells Masters	1992-1997	Most titles (3)	Roger Federer

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 4 (1-3)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1989	French Open	Clay	Stefan Edberg	6–1, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	1995	French Open	Clay	Thomas Muster	7–5, 6–2, 6–4
Runner-up	1996	Australian Open	Hard	Boris Becker	6–2, 6–4, 2–6, 6–2
Runner-up	1996	US Open	Hard	Pete Sampras	6–1, 6–4, 7–6(3)

Year-End Championships finals

Singles: 1 (0-1)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Runner-up	1995	Hanover	Carpet	Boris Becker	7–6(3), 6–0, 7–6(5)

Masters Series finals

Singles: 9 (7-2)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent in the final	Score in the final
Winner	1990	Canada (Toronto)	Hard	Jay Berger	4–6, 6–3, 7–6
Winner	1992	Indian Wells	Hard	Andrei Chesnokov	6–3, 6–4, 7–5
Winner	1992	Key Biscayne	Hard	Alberto Mancini	7–5, 7–5
Winner	1993	Cincinnati	Hard	Stefan Edberg	7–5, 0–6, 6–4
Winner	1994	Cincinnati	Hard	Stefan Edberg	6–2, 7–5
Runner-up	1995	Cincinnati	Hard	Andre Agassi	7–5, 6–2
Winner	1996	Indian Wells	Hard	Paul Haarhuis	7–5, 6–1, 6–1
Runner-up	1996	Cincinnati	Hard	Andre Agassi	7–6(4), 6–4
Winner	1997	Indian Wells	Hard	Bohdan Ulihrach	4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3

Career finals

Singles: 58 (34-24)

Wins (34)

Legend Grand Slam (1) Year-End Championships (0) ATP Masters Series (7) ATP Championship Series (5) ATP Tour (21)

Titles by surface Hard (21) Clay (4) Grass (0) Carpet (9)

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

Runner-ups (24)

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

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.

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

External links

• The official Michael Chang website
• Michael Chang at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Michael Chang at the Davis Cup
• International Tennis Hall of Fame profile
• A Chinese interview (in Simplified Chinese)
• Text, Audio, Video of Michael Chang's Tennis Hall of Fame Induction Speech