COMPAQ GRAND SLAM CUP

December 5, 1995

Michael Chang

MICHAEL CHANG: Well, I think that compared to Frankfurt I don't think I played as well today. To be honest with you, I thought that Frankfurt I was playing pretty good tennis, and, you know, pretty solid tennis overall, otherwise pretty much I wouldn't be able to get to the finals there. So, yeah, I would definitely say my play in Frankfurt was a bit better.

MICHAEL CHANG: I didn't feel tired. No, I didn't feel too tired.

MICHAEL CHANG: Well, I think that part of it may be I didn't give myself quite enough time to get used to the court. I think the court is a little bit quicker than what I have been playing on, so I think that that could be one reason. I think another reason is that I think Jacco served pretty big today, but other than that, I had my opportunities to win today's match. I had a few set points in the first set and had a couple of breakpoints in the second set, so, you know, wasn't able to capitalize on those opportunities, so .... yeah....

MICHAEL CHANG: Well, I watched a little bit at home and then watched the rest of it here, so -- pretty much.....

MICHAEL CHANG: Well, Thomas, I think, can't expect to be playing on a slower surface here as far as a clay court, for example. You know, I mean, the only times that clay courts are ever put indoors are when they play Davis Cup, like in Moscow when the U.S. played Australia in '90, so I don't think Thomas can expect a clay court to be laid down here. As far as a little bit of a slower surface, I think that is quite possible. I think that the tournament in Frankfurt was a little bit -- well, was medium/fast, and I thought that it was a good surface for all the players. So this surface, I think that it has always been quick, so I don't think that it should be a surprise to anybody coming in to play the Grand Slam Cup. It has always been fast. And, as far as I am concerned, it probably will stay this way. I am not really complaining about the surface. I have had a lot of good success here in the past.

MICHAEL CHANG: I think that is true to a point. But like I said, I had opportunities to do well. I had set point on my serve and missed a pretty easy passing shot and I had a couple of breaking points to break him in the second set. So overall, it was still a match that had I won a few key points could have definitely turned things around, but I think a surface like this will definitely, you know, favor the big serve and volleyers a little bit more than maybe the players who play from the back just because it gives them a little bit of advantage on their serve and on their volleys. It gives maybe the baseliners a little bit less time to run down shots, but that is expected, and that is where, you know, the players who prefer to play from the back have to step up their game a little bit, so that is really all it comes down to. It works the same way if you are playing on a slower surface, maybe it favors the players who play from the back a little bit more, so varies from week-to-week.

MICHAEL CHANG: Not really. Not really. I think that I was able to have a really good tournament in Frankfurt, and this allows me a little bit more time to get ready for a few personal things and also prepare for the following year, so obviously I would have like today have done a lot better here in Munich because I think this is a great tournament; it is a very well run tournament and I think a tournament that all the players would like to do well in, but since it has been cut a little bit short for me, I am sure going to be still going to be very busy at home, so .... yeah...

MICHAEL CHANG: Yes.

End of FastScripts….