NEWSWEEK CHAMPIONS CUP

March 13, 1997

Michael Chang

MICHAEL CHANG: The problem is, he gets himself out of trouble with a big serve, too much I think he relies heavily on first serve, and also hitting big forehands. Obviously he's got to go for his shots. If he's going to miss them, he's going to get himself in a little bit of trouble. I always have a lot of tough matches with Marc. I think for some reason he's able to play some really good tennis against me, overall play pretty solid.

MICHAEL CHANG: No, I did not.

MICHAEL CHANG: I think for one I was able to return serve well. He was clocking them in pretty consistently around 120, in the 120s. I was able to get them back. On top of that, I was able to serve pretty well today, I thought. You get a few free points here and there. That's pretty important with a guy who is going to take a few chances. If he's able to really get his forehand going, you know, he can definitely be very, very tough to play.

MICHAEL CHANG: To be honest with you, I felt like the balls were flying a little bit more so than in previous years. I noticed the balls are a little bit harder, definitely they are flying a little bit. I think coming here a few days early, just to get used to the conditions, the balls and stuff, probably helped out.

MICHAEL CHANG: I do. I think all the players like to play here. They really do a great job, make it a wonderful place to come and play. The facilities are great on top of that. I think just to be able to get so many people from so many different parts of the world to come to watch this event I think is pretty amazing. Charlie does a great job. It is a nice place to come to. Pretty relaxing, I'm able to play some good tennis, go back and relax. A lot of guys go out and golf a little bit. I cast my line, go fishing a little bit.

MICHAEL CHANG: It's pretty kicked back.

MICHAEL CHANG: People go golfing, the golf course. I go fishing on the golf course.

MICHAEL CHANG: I think part of it is being in a familiar setting. Having good results and coming to a place that you really enjoy, I think that's first and foremost. I think that for me just seems to make things pretty easy. My only exception to that is maybe Memphis. Memphis is a place where I really love to go. I feel comfortable there. Didn't have much success there till this year, but other than that, I think a lot of it is the surroundings and the people. I think the people play a pretty important role as far as the tournament goes. A setting like this suits me pretty well.

MICHAEL CHANG: Not necessarily. The reason being is that, you know, each year is a little bit different because sometimes maybe a tournament director might hear that the court was too fast, so they purposely the following year try to make it a little bit slower, they try to put a little bit more sand in the court, try to change the balls a little bit. It really depends on the situation. That's not necessarily the case. I think particularly in places where the weather will fluctuate a little bit, that will also play a bit of a factor.

MICHAEL CHANG: Yeah, I think that's part of being a professional. I think, you know, generally speaking, everybody has to deal with the same situations. If some guy is playing in a controlled environment and I have to play under fluctuating conditions, I'm going to complain a little bit. But everyone's in the same boat. There's no question about that. Maybe some players are able to adapt to the situation a little bit better than others. For me, I try to go out and make the best of it, try to go out there with the right equipment, the right tensions and stuff like that, go out there prepared. If conditions change, send a racquet to Carl saying, "I need to change things up a little bit." I feel like for me you have to be adaptable.

MICHAEL CHANG: Since when?

MICHAEL CHANG: I think the last time I played John was actually probably 1992. That was at the US Open. That wasn't all that long ago. I did play him in Berkeley. He beat me in the first one, so maybe at that time he was saying my serve hadn't improved all that much. I don't really know what to say to that.

MICHAEL CHANG: I think it's improved tremendously, to be honest with you. I feel like no longer is it just a way of starting a point for me. I'm going out there, stepping up to the line, trying to win a point off my first serve, whether it's an ace or a service winner, it really doesn't matter. I'm definitely using that as a weapon. It's a shot I concentrate on, a shot that I try to work at when I'm out there practicing.

MICHAEL CHANG: I think the velocity has moved up considerably. Memphis was actually good for me, serving-wise. I think it's important to be able to have velocity. On top of that, to be able to complement that with accuracy makes for a great combination.

MICHAEL CHANG: It's a change-up. For me, to be able to slide them out wide, pop one in hard, just to mix things up so that the guy doesn't think I'm going to be serving the same serve every time. I'd be happy serving 90 miles per hour if it were an ace or service winner every time, versus 120 miles per hour and a guy clocking the return back for a winner.

MICHAEL CHANG: No. I don't look at it that way. It's a little too far for me. I think to kind of give you a taste of the depth of men's tennis, I don't think you can take anybody lightly. This tournament, you look at the beginning of the week, the field that it has in many instances is a small Grand Slam tournament. You can't take anybody lightly, seeded or not.

MICHAEL CHANG: I did once against John Fitzgerald in Tokyo. It was funny because I was so pumped up for that match because the week prior we'd been practicing together. He was killing me, he was killing me in practice. I liked going out there and playing. I was so pumped because I felt like there was really a danger of me losing this match. I was up like 6-Love, 5-Love, he walks over to the side. He's like, "I thought you were my mate." It was pretty funny. I'm sure, given the chance, he would do the same. Lendl was ragging on him in the locker room when he walked in. It was pretty funny.

MICHAEL CHANG: We all want conditions to suit us. I think it's fair to say under different weeks you're going to have different players coming up and saying conditions maybe don't suit them. I'll give an example. Maybe in a tournament like Wimbledon, for example, you'll hear from some of the baseliners, they want to slow things up a little bit. Maybe on some of the claycourt tournaments, serve and volleyers, we want to speed things up a little bit. I think that's pretty normal and expected. Tournament directors get a good feel for what a really good, ideal court is, where guys generally in the middle, if you want to serve and volley, you can do it successfully, if you want to play from the back, you can do it successfully. Many times it's great to be able to have a lot of tour directors that have been on the Tour and they know the conditions. Sometimes you can't really change them. Wimbledon, I don't think you can ever make slow.

MICHAEL CHANG: Unfortunately it kind of depends on the day. To be honest with you, it's something that I'm working on. I try to be a little bit more consistent on my serve. I have some days where I'm serving extremely well and some days where my percentage really drops. It is something that I'm trying to solidify, to be able to go out there and have that serve work for me each time I step up to the line. I think as far as accuracy, it has improved. I like to be able to think that way. I know that's going to get better.

MICHAEL CHANG: Any particular reason for that?

MICHAEL CHANG: To be honest, coming into this week, I think the players were honestly saying the surface was going to favor the serve and volleyers because the conditions are fast, the balls are pretty hard. That would favor a big server to be quite honest with you. Why at this stage it's kind of gone the other way, I really don't know.

MICHAEL CHANG: To be honest with you, I think that's been a question that the guys have been -- I think everyone has been asking for quite a long time. I think the most difficult thing about Davis Cup is scheduling. There's no question about that. The difficulty I think kind of comes into being able to sit the ITF and ATP Tour down and be able to come out with a schedule that everyone's happy with. I think in many instances you have selected events throughout the year where you kind of have a claycourt season, you have a grass court season, a hardcourt season, an indoor season. The thing that's tough about Davis Cup is where the Davis Cup slots fit in, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be in that particular surface or in that particular location. In that instance, it is very difficult to prepare for Davis Cup. I don't know. I think a lot of guys have been talking about changing the scheduling around. I don't know how. I think that that would probably be the most ideal situation to make it better, at least for the American players, looking at it from our point of view.

MICHAEL CHANG: That is a possibility. I think still in that regard, there has to be some kind of area periodically throughout the year where you're able to play Davis Cup. To be quite honest with you, the guys tell me coming from Davis Cup, the next week is most difficult. Guys are coming in, playing Davis Cup, finishing on Sunday. They fly into their next destination, which many times is on another continent, technically getting in on Tuesday, playing Wednesday, from there playing each day out. There's no time to get used to anything: time change, balls, surroundings, court. Many times guys come in after Davis Cup and they lose first round. It's difficult. The Tour is difficult. I think given a situation, I don't know how, because there's always tournaments popping up somewhere, and players have a certain obligation to play a certain amount of tournaments in each particular category. Somehow we should be able to figure something out where guys are able to have a few more days off after Davis Cup to kind of prepare for the next event. I don't know. I don't know if there's ever going to be a resolve to that, but I think that's where it is, the ITF and ATP Tour have to come together as far as their own scheduling and be able to compromise in one way or another.

MICHAEL CHANG: I think so.

MICHAEL CHANG: I plan on it. I always plan on leaving Monday each week. I just take things match by match, but definitely go out there with the faith that I'm going to be there on Sunday, winning the title.

MICHAEL CHANG: I would choose Wimbledon. The reason being is that people don't think I can win it. I think in my life, I'd like to be able to be able to say to those people who look at me and they say, "You're too small, you don't have a big enough serve, you're not able to volley quite well enough, the court's too fast," I don't believe in all that. I kind of believe I can go out there and have the faith in God that I can go out and accomplish anything, whether it's winning Wimbledon, whether people think I can win it or not. That's been kind of characteristic of the way my career has been, the way my life has kind of been, to be able to go out there and prove people wrong.

MICHAEL CHANG: Absolutely. Been doing that since probably I was like seven years old.

MICHAEL CHANG: We didn't have a conversation. All I know is I beat John McEnroe. When I was a little kid, I think all kids kind of go through this, USTA actually had a great commercial, there was a little boy in the park and he was pretending that he was playing -- he was both Agassi and Sampras playing a point, stuff like that, in the US Open. It's something I think a lot of kids do, including me. When I grew up, I was playing against a wall in the basement in Minnesota. I would play with a little sponge ball so I could hit it as hard as I wanted, wouldn't dent the wall, my parents wouldn't get mad. I was pretending I was playing a match. All the sets I won were 7-6. All the sets I lost, the guy killed me, 6-Love. Somehow or another, I was able to win it in a tight five-setter every time.

MICHAEL CHANG: I beat John a few times, I beat Borg. I beat everybody, to be honest.

MICHAEL CHANG: All the sets I lost, all those guys, McEnroe, Connors, Lendl, Borg, all those guys. That's part of being a kid, part of wanting to go out there and kind of live those dreams in a sense.

MICHAEL CHANG: When I won the French, I didn't know what happened, to be honest with you. When you're that young, you dream of those things. When you're 17 years old, you're still technically very, very young. I walked off that court. I knew that I won, but I really didn't know. You don't know the significance at that age of what really went on, what really happened. I don't know if guys like Boris have felt that way winning Wimbledon and stuff. I know that was something that I felt.

MICHAEL CHANG: That's the only underhand serve I hit in my life. Andre used to hit it to me in the juniors, used to be a great shot. For me, it's the only time I hit it. Maybe in exhibition I hit it a couple times. I don't know. I don't really know in a sense what kind of overcame me. I thought, "Shot, I'm just popping the serve in, pretty soon he's going to crack it, I've got to change things up." I don't know. I just did it.

MICHAEL CHANG: I think it depends on the situation, because the French is still a really special tournament for me. I think Ivan's situation is a little different. I think he realized that he was kind of approaching the end of his career, he accomplished so much, had Grand Slam titles. To be able to go out there and give it his all. To be honest with you, he really gave a valiant effort there. He played some great tennis in Queen's, beat Boris in the finals 2 and 3, just playing some phenomenal tennis. It just so happens sometimes things don't work out. At least I think Ivan, at this stage he can look back and say, "Although I didn't win Wimbledon, I gave it my hundred percent." At this point it's like, "Let's work on my golf game." I think maybe for me the situation is a little different at this point in time. Hopefully grass will become more and more of a natural thing for me, working on serving and volleying and stuff like that. Each year it's going to take a little bit of time, to be honest with you. My game is not naturally suited to a grass court. Each year I'm learning little by little. Knowledge can take you a long way.

MICHAEL CHANG: Before they had the tiebreaker, period?

MICHAEL CHANG: Like in the first set?

MICHAEL CHANG: I don't know. I kind of like the tiebreaker in some instances. I think everyone else is like this (indicating). Can you imagine how many matches there would be at Wimbledon? It would be going on for days.

MICHAEL CHANG: They used to have it until 1990. I think I was the first one to play a tiebreaker in Davis Cup.

MICHAEL CHANG: My understanding was it was '90 and I was first there.

MICHAEL CHANG: I think that's partly true. It always plays a very important role. I think, granted, I would prefer to win a match won on ability than physical endurance, but sometimes that's what it takes.

MICHAEL CHANG: Partly, I think partly. To be honest, I really enjoy those moments. I've had matches where I've had really tight, tight situations and stuff. Regardless, I've lost a lot of matches like that, I've won some matches like that. I've always come off the court, looking back, I've always enjoyed them. I think that's what makes tennis very exciting, not only for the players, but for the spectators. Those are the moments that I think are really enjoyable. I don't know if you guys ever get a chance to be in a situation, but where there's like 10,000 people watching. You go out and you hit a great shot, a crucial situation. The crowd just goes absolutely nuts. You can scream at the top of your lungs and you cannot hear yourself. From a player point of view, it's a great feeling.

MICHAEL CHANG: That's kind of hard to say. I think still the match that stands out is my match with Ivan, just because of the situation, because it was an emotional match. I don't think I've ever been that emotional in a match before. On top of that, I think my match against John at the US Open, finished like 2 o'clock in the morning, in front of the New York fans and stuff, to be able to hit that lob winner over him for the match, that was pretty exciting. I have a lot of exciting memories and stuff. I'm only 25, so hopefully there will be plenty more. I almost feel like Stefan up here looking back on my career (laughter).

MICHAEL CHANG: About Andre in the juniors? I have quite a few stories. Andre and I, we've actually had a long history. I think maybe even longer with Carl. My brother Carl used to play Andre all the time. Andre has always been a very confident person, his tennis is always based upon confidence. I remember Andre always had a big forehand, he played Carl one time. Carl has a pretty big forehand, too. I remember they played in this match. I guess he decided to go forehand to forehand with Carl. Carl's a pretty big boy. He's like a year older than Andre. Carl won like 6-Love, 6-1. It was a pretty fun match. In the juniors, Andre always gave me a lot of problems on the tennis court. In the juniors, I don't think I ever beat him once. We didn't play all that many times, but we did play quite a few times. I think the most difficult thing against Andre when we were very young, we played the National 12 and Unders in San Diego, he was like 12, I was like 10, and he actually stayed at our house. It's funny because I can remember walking back after looking at the draw, "I have to play this guy in the quarters." "Quarters, you have to play me first right there." We ended up playing in the second or third round. The most thing difficult thing about playing Andre when he was younger was the spins. He would play unbelievable spins, really wild. Occasionally he'd throw in an underhand serve, land within two feet of the net, totally spin off to the side. You couldn't do anything. We've had a lot of fun matches. I've known Andre for a very, very long time. There's lots of stories. I'm sure Courier and Sampras could tell you a lot of stories as well.

MICHAEL CHANG: I don't know, but I've definitely played Pete the most, by far. By far, I've played Pete the most.

MICHAEL CHANG: Sport Goofy.

MICHAEL CHANG: He wasn't that big either. I might have been taller than him.

MICHAEL CHANG: It's funny because I played there twice. Two or three times, actually. It was down in Orlando. That was a lot of fun. It's pretty funny because you look at the players now who played there. There's one picture where I won the 14s, Tommy won the 12 and Unders, Natasha Zvereva won the 14s, and this little girl Monica Seles won the 12 and Unders. If you look at those pictures, it's pretty funny to look at, see how small we all were, just to see how far all of us have gone. Arnaud Boetsch was there, Andre was there, Pete was there, just a lot of fond memories. I think if anyone ever digs up those pictures, it was in Inside Tennis, so I got a lot of comments this week, "Did you see that picture with you and Pete in there"? I asked them if I changed. He said, "No." They're pretty fun pictures to look at, yeah.