Michael Chang

Michael Chang

Country (sports)	United States
Residence	Orange County, California, USA
Born	(1972-02-22) February 22, 1972 Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
Height	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m)
Turned pro	1988
Retired	2003
Plays	Right-handed (two-handed backhand)
Coach(es)	José Higueras (1989)[1] Carl Chang (1992–2003)[2]
Prize money	US$ 19,145,632
Int. Tennis HoF	2008 (member page)
Singles
Career record	662–312 (68% at ATP, Grand Prix & Grand Slam level & Davis Cup)
Career titles	34
Highest ranking	No. 2 (September 9, 1996)
Grand Slam Singles results
Australian Open	F (1996)
French Open	W (1989)
Wimbledon	QF (1994)
US Open	F (1996)
Other tournaments
Tour Finals	F (1995)
Olympic Games	2R (1992)
Doubles
Career record	11–33 (25% at ATP, Grand Prix & Grand Slam level & Davis Cup)
Career titles	0
Highest ranking	No. 199 (April 19, 1993)
Coaching career
Amber Liu Kei Nishikori (2014–)
Last updated on: July 5, 2014.

Michael Te-Pei Chang (born February 22, 1972) is an American former tennis player. He became the youngest male player to win a Grand Slam singles title when he won the French Open in 1989 at the age of 17 years and 4 months.

Known for his on-court speed and fighting spirit, Chang is considered by many observers to have been one of the best defensive baseliners of all time. He also introduced the jumping two-handed backhand. He remained in the top 10 of the ATP world rankings for several years in the 1990s, peaking at World No. 2 in September 1996.

Chang was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame in 2008.^[3]

As of January 2014, Chang is coaching Kei Nishikori.^[4]

Early life

Chang was born in Hoboken, New Jersey in 1972 to Joe (張洪笙) and Betty (董良因, née Tung). Betty and Joe moved from Taiwan to the US in 1959 and 1966 respectively. The parents met in the United States after being introduced by a mutual friend. Betty was born in Delhi, India, the daughter of Michael Tung (董宗山), then serving as diplomat of The Republic of China to India. Michael then served in the Legislative Yuan and was an Ambassador to Cambodia and Dominican Republic/Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, among other diplomatic posts in 1960s to 1980s. Joe was born in Chaozhou, 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 St. Paul, Minnesota, where Michael learned tennis, the Changs moved to first Placentia, California, and then Encinitas, California, to increase the tennis opportunities for Michael and his older brother, Carl. Betty quit her job as a chemist to travel with Chang on the tour.^[5] After rising to #163 in the world as a 15-year-old amateur, Chang dropped out of tenth grade at San Dieguito High School in Encinitas after passing his GED in February 1988 in order to pursue a professional tennis career.

Chang also attended the master's in ministry program at Biola University in La Mirada, California, for a year and half. He serves on Biola's Board of Trustees.^[6]

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 7008545983200000000♠17 years, 110 days, to become the youngest male player ever to win a Grand Slam title. He defeated Stefan Edberg in a five-set final, 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 the first American man to win a Grand Slam since 1984. And in August 1989, Chang became the youngest player to be ranked in the world's top 5.

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, eventually losing to Muster. 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 no. 1 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.^[7] Chang went 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 dominated Pete Sampras in the semifinals, before losing in the final to Boris Becker.

Chang represented the US in the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, reaching the second round before being eliminated by Jaime Oncins. He chose to skip the 1996 Summer Olympics despite the fact that the event was held in Atlanta and that he would have been the tournament's number-one seed (the singles' gold medal was won by Andre Agassi). Chang participated in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where he was eliminated in the first round by Sébastien Lareau.

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 José 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. He was the first player to be beaten by Roger Federer in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, at the 2000 Australian Open.^[8] He was also the second player to be beaten by Andy Roddick in the main draw of a Grand Slam tournament, in the second round of the French Open in 2001.^[9]

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. His three Indian Wells Masters titles was an ATP record which stood for 15 years, before being eclipsed by Roger Federer in 2012.

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

Chang became Kei Nishikori's coach in 2014.

1989 French Open match vs Ivan Lendl

Chang's most famous match took place at the 1989 French Open (on the way to winning his only Grand Slam singles title). Having already defeated Eduardo Masso, Pete Sampras and Francisco Roig, in the fourth round, he faced 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 17-year-old Chang.

Lendl appeared to be on the way to victory after taking the first two sets 6–4, 6–4, and then breaking Chang's serve in his opening service game of the third set. However, Chang broke back immediately and went on to claim the third set, 6–3. During the fourth set, Chang experienced a severe attack of leg cramps, and though he won the set to level the match, he considered retiring from the match while up 2–1 in the fifth set. He later said that he felt "an unbelievable conviction in my heart" not to give up, and decided to finish the match.^[10][11]

Chang adopted some unusual tactics in an attempt to overcome his cramps. He hit the ball high into the air on many points to slow the game down (known as "moon balls"), and also began to go for more winners in order to shorten the points.^[12] Chang also ate bananas and drank water at every opportunity. The success of these tactics caused Lendl, known to be one of the least easily fazed players, to lose his rhythm, and also prompted him 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.^[13]

Chang continued to suffer from cramps, but managed to take 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 almost at the T-line in the centre of the court while waiting to receive Lendl's serve. The crowd started laughing at the bizarre situation, and Lendl seemed to think everyone was mocking him. 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 4 hours and 37 minutes. Chang sank to his knees and broke down in tears at the conclusion of the match. Seven days later, he went on to lift the Coupe des Mousquetaires, becoming the youngest male champion in Grand Slam history.^[14][15]

The match was played on June 5, 1989, just one day after the height of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Chang has frequently noted the impact of the massacre when recalling his French Open victory:

"A lot of people forget that Tiananmen Square was going on. The crackdown that happened was on the middle Sunday at the French Open, so if I was not practicing or playing a match, I was glued to the television, watching the events unfold...I often tell people I think it was God's purpose for me to be able to win the French Open the way it was won because I was able to put a smile on Chinese people's faces around the world at a time when there wasn't much to smile about."^[16]

(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)

Business ventures

Chang and his family established CMCB Enterprises, which has real estate holdings (including shopping centers) in California, Texas, Arizona and Colorado. In 2003, they bought Dunton Realty Co., a retail brokerage and property management company^[17] and changed its name to Dunton Commercial Real Estate Co.^[18] In 2004, they bought SullivanHayes Cos., a retail real estate company in Denver.^[19] The company was chosen by Denver International Airport to develop a new 17-acre retail project along Peña Boulevard, the airport's main artery.^[20]

Equipment and endorsements

Chang signed a multimillion-dollar endorsement deal with Reebok in 1988;^[21] he wore Reebok apparel and Reebok Court Victory Pumps shoes^[22] during his tennis career^[23] and used Prince rackets on court.^[24] He started using Prince "Precision Michael Chang Graphite" 28-inch signature racket in 1994, which was 1 inch longer than the standard model.^[25]

Chang signed endorsement deals with Nissin Foods noodles in 1989,^[26] Panasonic^[27] and Longines in the 1990s,^[28] Cathay Pacific Airlines in 1990,^[29] Bristol-Myers Squibb promoting Nuprin in 1991,^[30] Stelux watches in 1993,^[31] Discover Card in 1996,^[32] Tiger Balm,^[33] Procter & Gamble (endorsing P&G's Rejoice Shampoo),^[34] Eveready Battery Company (endorsing Eveready Alkaline batteries),^[34] and Yale locks.^[21] In 1997, he signed a multi-year contract to endorse Watch Reebok, a collection of sports watches. A limited edition Michael Chang signature watch was released during Christmas.^[35]

Public image

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.^[14]

Charity work

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 Foundation 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.

Personal life

A devout Christian, Chang first spotlit his faith upon winning the 1989 French Open, declaring "I thank the Lord Jesus Christ, because without Him, I am nothing."^[36] In 1999 Chang and his family established the Chang Family Foundation, dedicated to integrating tennis, family, and Christian faith. The Foundation is now based in Rancho Santa Margarita, California.^[37]

Chang 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, also a professional tennis player.^[38][39] They have two daughters, Lani (born December 9, 2010)^[40] and Maile (born February 2013).^[41]

Awards and recognition

On May 3, 2009, Chang was honored by the Los Angeles Chinese Historical Society of Southern California in "Celebrating Taiwanese Americans in Sports".^[42]

Records

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

Major finals

Grand Slam finals

Singles: 4 (1–3)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
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	5–7, 2–6, 4–6
Runner-up	1996	Australian Open	Hard	Boris Becker	2–6, 4–6, 6–2, 2–6
Runner-up	1996	US Open	Hard	Pete Sampras	1–6, 4–6, 6–7(3–7)

Year-End Championships finals

Singles: 1 (0–1)

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

Masters Series finals

Singles: 9 (7–2)

Outcome	Year	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1990	Canada (Toronto)	Hard	Jay Berger	4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–2)
Winner	1992	Indian Wells	Hard	Andrei Chesnokov	6–3, 6–4, 7–5
Winner	1992	Miami	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	5–7, 2–6
Winner	1996	Indian Wells	Hard	Paul Haarhuis	7–5, 6–1, 6–1
Runner-up	1996	Cincinnati	Hard	Andre Agassi	6–7(4–7), 4–6
Winner	1997	Indian Wells	Hard	Bohdan Ulihrach	4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3

Grand Slam, Grand Prix, and ATP Tour career finals

Singles: 58 (34–24)

Outcome	No.	Date	Championship	Surface	Opponent	Score
Winner	1.	September 26, 1988	San Francisco, US	Carpet (i)	Johan Kriek	6–2, 6–3
Winner	2.	May 29, 1989	French Open, Paris	Clay	Stefan Edberg	6–1, 3–6, 4–6, 6–4, 6–2
Runner-up	1.	September 18, 1989	Los Angeles, US	Hard	Aaron Krickstein	6–2, 4–6, 2–6
Winner	3.	November 7, 1989	Wembley, UK	Carpet (i)	Guy Forget	6–2, 6–1, 6–1
Winner	4.	July 23, 1990	Toronto, Canada	Hard	Jay Berger	4–6, 6–3, 7–6(7–2)
Runner-up	2.	July 30, 1990	Los Angeles, US	Hard	Stefan Edberg	6–7(4–7), 6–2, 6–7(3–7)
Runner-up	3.	November 5, 1990	Wembley, UK	Carpet (i)	Jakob Hlasek	6–7(7–9), 3–6
Winner	5.	November 4, 1991	Birmingham, UK	Carpet (i)	Guillaume Raoux	6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	4.	December 10, 1991	Grand Slam Cup, Munich	Carpet (i)	David Wheaton	5–7, 2–6, 4–6
Winner	6.	February 3, 1992	San Francisco, US	Hard (i)	Jim Courier	6–3, 6–3
Winner	7.	March 2, 1992	Indian Wells, US	Hard	Andrei Chesnokov	6–3, 6–4, 7–5
Winner	8.	March 13, 1992	Miami, US	Hard	Alberto Mancini	7–5, 7–5
Runner-up	5.	April 13, 1992	Hong Kong, UK	Hard	Jim Courier	5–7, 3–6
Runner-up	6.	December 8, 1992	Grand Slam Cup, Munich, Germany	Carpet (i)	Michael Stich	2–6, 3–6, 2–6
Winner	9.	January 11, 1993	Jakarta, Indonesia	Hard	Carl-Uwe Steeb	2–6, 6–2, 6–1
Winner	10.	March 29, 1993	Osaka, Japan	Hard	Amos Mansdorf	6–4, 6–4
Runner-up	7.	August 2, 1993	Los Angeles, US	Hard	Richard Krajicek	6–0, 6–7(3–7), 6–7(5–7)
Winner	11.	August 9, 1993	Cincinnati, US	Hard	Stefan Edberg	7–5, 0–6, 6–4
Runner-up	8.	August 23, 1993	Long Island, US	Hard	Marc Rosset	4–6, 6–3, 1–6
Winner	12.	September 27, 1993	Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia	Hard (i)	Jonas Svensson	6–0, 6–4
Winner	13.	October 18, 1993	Beijing, China	Carpet (i)	Greg Rusedski	7–6(7–5), 6–7(6–8), 6–4
Winner	14.	January 10, 1994	Jakarta, Indonesia	Hard	David Rikl	6–3, 6–3
Runner-up	9.	January 31, 1994	San Jose, US	Hard (i)	Renzo Furlan	6–3, 3–6, 5–7
Winner	15.	February 14, 1994	Philadelphia, US	Carpet (i)	Paul Haarhuis	6–3, 6–2
Runner-up	10.	April 4, 1994	Tokyo, Japan	Hard	Pete Sampras	4–6, 2–6
Winner	16.	April 11, 1994	Hong Kong, UK	Hard	Patrick Rafter	6–1, 6–3
Winner	17.	April 25, 1994	Atlanta, US	Clay	Todd Martin	6–7(4–7), 7–6(7–4), 6–0
Winner	18.	August 8, 1994	Cincinnati, US	Hard	Stefan Edberg	6–2, 7–5
Runner-up	11.	October 10, 1994	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (i)	Goran Ivanišević	4–6, 4–6
Winner	19.	October 17, 1994	Beijing, China	Carpet (i)	Anders Järryd	7–5, 7–5
Runner-up	12.	February 6, 1995	San Jose, US	Hard (i)	Andre Agassi	2–6, 6–1, 3–6
Runner-up	13.	February 20, 1995	Philadelphia, US	Carpet (i)	Thomas Enqvist	6–0, 4–6, 0–6
Winner	20.	April 17, 1995	Hong Kong, UK	Hard	Jonas Björkman	6–3, 6–1
Winner	21.	May 1, 1995	Atlanta, US	Clay	Andre Agassi	6–2, 6–7(6–8), 6–4
Runner-up	14.	May 29, 1995	French Open, Paris, France	Clay	Thomas Muster	5–7, 2–6, 4–6
Runner-up	15.	August 7, 1995	Cincinnati, US	Hard	Andre Agassi	5–7, 2–6
Winner	22.	October 9, 1995	Tokyo, Japan	Carpet (i)	Mark Philippoussis	6–3, 6–4
Winner	23.	October 16, 1995	Beijing, China	Carpet (i)	Renzo Furlan	7–5, 6–3
Runner-up	16.	November 14, 1995	Tennis Masters Cup, Hannover	Carpet (i)	Boris Becker	6–7(3–7), 0–6, 6–7(5–7)
Runner-up	17.	January 15, 1996	Australian Open, Melbourne, Australia	Hard	Boris Becker	2–6, 4–6, 6–2, 2–6
Winner	24.	March 11, 1996	Indian Wells, US	Hard	Paul Haarhuis	7–5, 6–1, 6–1
Runner-up	18.	April 8, 1996	Hong Kong, UK	Hard	Pete Sampras	4–6, 6–3, 4–6
Winner	25.	July 15, 1996	Washington, D.C., US	Hard	Wayne Ferreira	6–2, 6–4
Winner	26.	July 29, 1996	Los Angeles, US	Hard	Richard Krajicek	6–4, 6–3
Runner-up	19.	August 5, 1996	Cincinnati, US	Hard	Andre Agassi	6–7(4–7), 4–6
Runner-up	20.	August 26, 1996	US Open, New York City	Hard	Pete Sampras	1–6, 4–6, 6–7(3–7)
Runner-up	21.	September 30, 1996	Singapore	Carpet (i)	Jonathan Stark	4–6, 4–6
Winner	27.	February 17, 1997	Memphis, US	Hard (i)	Todd Woodbridge	6–3, 6–4
Winner	28.	March 10, 1997	Indian Wells, US	Hard	Bohdan Ulihrach	4–6, 6–3, 6–4, 6–3
Winner	29.	April 7, 1997	Hong Kong, UK	Hard	Patrick Rafter	6–3, 6–3
Winner	30.	April 21, 1997	Orlando, US	Clay	Grant Stafford	4–6, 6–2, 6–1
Winner	31.	July 14, 1997	Washington, D.C., US	Hard	Petr Korda	5–7, 6–2, 6–1
Runner-up	22.	February 16, 1998	Memphis, US	Hard (i)	Mark Philippoussis	3–6, 2–6
Runner-up	23.	April 20, 1998	Orlando, US	Clay	Jim Courier	5–7, 6–3, 5–7
Winner	32.	August 24, 1998	Boston, US	Hard	Paul Haarhuis	6–3, 6–4
Winner	33.	October 5, 1998	Shanghai, China	Carpet (i)	Goran Ivanišević	4–6, 6–1, 6–2
Runner-up	24.	January 10, 2000	Auckland, New Zealand	Hard	Magnus Norman	6–3, 3–6, 5–7
Winner	34.	July 24, 2000	Los Angeles, US	Hard	Jan-Michael Gambill	6–7(2–7), 6–3, ret.

Singles performance timeline

References

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

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Michael Chang.

• Official website
• Michael Chang at the Association of Tennis Professionals
• Michael Chang at the Davis Cup
• Michael Chang at the International Tennis Hall of Fame
• bio – file interview with Michael Chang
• A Chinese interview (in Simplified Chinese)
• Text and Audio of Michael Chang's Tennis Hall of Fame Induction Speech

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Andre Agassi	ATP Most Improved Player 1989	Succeeded by Pete Sampras