COMPAQ GRAND SLAM CUP

December 6, 1994

Michael Chang

MICHAEL CHANG: Well, I think, you know, early or not, you know you are going to be playing top players throughout the draw. If you are not going to play Pete, you are going to play somewhere where you are either going to play either Boris, Goran or Andre. So they are all in the same boat with so many good players in such a small draw, you know, it is inevitable. So it is just the way it is so... I think it is pretty much expected for all the players.

MICHAEL CHANG: I think actually it was tougher to play him here in Munich than it was in Frankfurt. I think that he learned a few things from Frankfurt, and I think he played better tennis, overall, in this week year than in Frankfurt. So today was a much tougher match than back then. The score probably shows that as well so...

MICHAEL CHANG: This actually is a little bit faster than Frankfurt. Both are still very fast, but here's always -- it has always been very fast here even since the first year since the inaugural year in 1990 it has always been on the quick side.

MICHAEL CHANG: Still the same. Same stuff. I have gotten a pretty good idea of -- I find my way around the OlympiaHalle. I can find my way around the hotel and not a whole lot of chance to go and look around just because this tournament is such a big tournament for all the players, you know, you really don't want to give away anything to anybody. So you don't want to -- you want to try to reserve your energy for your matches.

MICHAEL CHANG: Yeah. I think -- well, any Christmas present is better than the chocolate. I am hoping that there will be even a better Christmas present later in the week on Sunday. That would be very nice. This is a good tournament to finish the year off. I think from here, you know, go back home and, you know, rest and celebrate Christmas and rest a little bit; play a few exhibitions, and then pretty much get ready for the Australian.

MICHAEL CHANG: Yeah, but I have gotten to the finals here in the last two years before. So, you know, I feel like these kind of tournaments here, the Grand Slam events, and also, you know, in Frankfurt, if you are going to win, you got to beat the best. Just the way it is. And I think that is part of, you know, wanting to try to be the best in the world. You got to be able to beat everybody. You just can't beat players, you know, ranked below you. You have got to get there somehow. So obviously this tournament is going to be a tough one for all the players because there are a lot of tough players; all the matches are very tough.

MICHAEL CHANG: Actually I like -- I think actually for each year I probably look forward to seeing the snow quite a bit. There has been a couple of years here in Munich where it has snowed. For me, I don't get a chance to see much snow as maybe, you know, some places like Minnesota where I used to live. So that, for me, is very pleasant to see, and obviously it is not -- I don't think it is going to happen. It is getting colder, so, well, it is something that -- maybe it will snow later in the week, but, you know, I don't know a whole lot about Munich. I only know the tournaments, the clay court tournaments and also this event here and I know that a lot of the players from Germany have homes here in Munich, and, you know, practice against one another. That is really all I know; just seeing what I see when I am driving in the car; just the river going through the city and stuff like that, so I am not a real cultural person, but, you know, I think, you know, so I just-- I would leave it like that.

MICHAEL CHANG: Skiing is kind of dangerous right now because I think as a tennis player if you get hurt, you are in trouble, so I think any kind of dangerous sports, you know, skiing, whatever, bungie (ps) jumping, rock climbing, mountain climbing, I will leave that 'til after tennis, if I ever want to try it. But just those kind of sports are just a little bit dangerous.

MICHAEL CHANG: No. I have done cross-country skiing once when I was little, but I don't see myself doing a whole lot of skiing, so, you know, just because there is a lot of danger involved and that aspect; tennis is such a short career now; it is getting shorter and shorter every year, so you want to make the most of the time that you have, you know, on the court and travelling.

MICHAEL CHANG: It depends on the personality. I am a very conservative person. I know that maybe, you know, maybe guys like I know like Kelly Evenden he likes to bungie jump. I can picture some of the other players like Muster because he is from Austria doing a lot of skiing, things like that, but I prefer more of the tranquil sports, like fishing; things like that, where I can't really get hurt unless I catch a fish so big that he swallows me. Other than that, I like a little bit more tranquil sports. Every now and then I will play golf. Those are technically a lot safer than maybe skiing or other sports like that.