IBM/ATP TOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP

November 19, 1995

Michael Chang

MICHAEL CHANG: No. No, not really. I was just trying different things. Boris seemed to be returning particularly well today even on my first serve, so I was just trying different things, just tried to make it so that - make it a little bit more difficult for him to return serve and just to start off the point a little bit better.

MICHAEL CHANG: Very important. I realized that I didn't get any first serves in and that is really something that hurt me quite a bit, and yeah, so, I think that was one of the main points of the match, I think something that if I had won the first set, I think that definitely would have put a lot more pressure on Boris to play better tennis and probably still be out there playing, so, you know, but sometimes, that is the way things go and you try to learn from them. Hopefully, those things just don't happen next time around. But I was very conscious of that, but I felt under the circumstances, I was still trying to go for my serve; not just to get it in, but hoped that Boris missed.

MICHAEL CHANG: He wasn't bad. (AUDIENCE LAUGHTER) I think that of all the times that I have played Boris, this is definitely the best Boris that I have played against. I have never seen anybody serve quite that effectively. I have never -- I don't think I have ever been aced quite as many times even if I were to play Goran, I didn't feel that -- in a sense, Goran did not quite compare to Boris today. Yeah, I was just, you know, just one of those days where Boris was just playing some great tennis and everything was working for him.

MICHAEL CHANG: No, I felt I got off to a pretty good start today. I felt good physically and mentally. Going into today's match, everything was going well. I had a good warmup this morning and I was pretty much prepared to play. So yeah -- but I had watched Boris play, you know, previous matches this week and I just -- I didn't see anything that, you know, that would really kind of prepare me in a sense for the way that he played today.

MICHAEL CHANG: Well, I have had a lot of good experiences, some that I have won; some that I have lost. I think this is definitely a very positive experience for me. Although I lost today, I think it is something that, you know, to play Boris in Germany is something that, you know, I think is very special and, hopefully, I will get a chance to do it again -- yeah, so...

MICHAEL CHANG: I thought I played just as well as yesterday. I think -- yeah, I mean, -- I don't think that I was any less than what I was yesterday, so -- yeah.

MICHAEL CHANG: Meaning?

MICHAEL CHANG: No. I won't give you that satisfaction. I wouldn't say that because, you know, I think that, you know, I think if that were the case, the first and third sets would be a lot easier than 7-6. I did have opportunities to win the first set, grant it. Boris just played unbelievable the second set, but that is only one set. It is a three out of five set match. You can't win a match by just playing one great set. So, I think other than that, if you were to kind of break things down, having opportunities from 5-2 on in the first set, and also having a breakpoint, you know, being up, I think it was like 4-3, somewhere around there, I had a breakpoint and got a good return, Boris hit kind of a floating shot and I volleyed it across court and he just happened to cover it. So, yeah, I think that it was still a close match and I won't say that.

MICHAEL CHANG: It is difficult to compare really because, you know, I think that the crowd in Roland Garros -- I do not think that they were really for anyone in particular. I think that is different from today. I didn't hear the crowd chanting my name too much compared to Boris, but, you know, so other than that, I think it was still -- both matches were very, very tough matches for me. But, you know, both were good experiences and good tournaments for me. I will take both these tournaments and learn from them and apply them to, hopefully, bigger and better things in the future.

MICHAEL CHANG: Well, I think if I say that and Boris starts listening, then he is going to beat me worse. So, I did make a few adjustments. I won't go into that because I would like to play Boris again next year, so...

MICHAEL CHANG: Of course. But, you know, I am just continuing to learn things, but I had to change something because Boris was just returning serves too well off the first and second serves, so I had to change a few things, and I was able to hold serve, you know, throughout the third set.

MICHAEL CHANG: I think my second serve can continue to get better. I don't think that it is a weakness for me anymore like it used to be. I think if you would look at the stats as far as second serve points won, you know, I am right up there with the best, so, yeah, I mean, that is what I would say. I think that I can continue to get better, but I don't see that as a weakness anymore, otherwise, I wouldn't be going for them as I am if I didn't have confidence in my serve.

MICHAEL CHANG: If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Simple.

MICHAEL CHANG: I don't think the surface and the balls have changed that much, to be honest with you. It has always been pretty much a medium, fast surface and I don't think that that has changed all that much. I like to think that each year I have gotten a little bit better, you know, in playing here and getting used to the conditions and, you know, hopefully, the peaks experience and all that will continue to help me down the line in future years.

MICHAEL CHANG: I don't dwell on the past. I am kidding. You know, I think that it is just one of those things. I mean, I can tell you know, numerous stories of matches going both ways, where I was down 5-2, I was up 5-2, everybody has there kind of fair share of matches, but, you know, I think that comes with maturity and experience. To be honest with you, as far as Grand Slam tournaments go and big matches like today, you know, that is where I have have to learn. And you can't let those opportunities just kind of walk on by. You have to take advantage of them because you are playing against the best players in the world, when you come to tournaments like this, and you got to be, you know, just got to go out there with no mercy, so, you know, I will take what I have learned from both these events and, you know, hopefully in the future, those things won't happen.

End of FastScripts….