THE LIPTON CHAMPIONSHIPS

March 18, 1999

Michael Chang

MICHAEL CHANG: It's tough. I mean, it's very frustrating. I don't really have any answers to give you. I'm out there trying to play the best tennis I can play. Things just aren't happening. I'm not really sure totally what's really going on. I don't have any answers for you.

MICHAEL CHANG: You know, it's been tough to kind of figure out a little bit. For me, when I feel like I'm playing well, I know the movement is there, I feel like I'm pretty fluid. I feel like in certain instances I get the right shot and I'm just missing. That's pretty frustrating to know that my error count was pretty high today. I feel like when I have a shot that I want to go for, I have to go for that shot. They're just not falling.

MICHAEL CHANG: Well, as of late, my family has been traveling with me. That's actually not a bad idea, to go back and maybe look at some tapes to see exactly what I'm doing that's maybe not right or not correct. That's actually a pretty good idea.

MICHAEL CHANG: There have been times when we've gone back to look at things.

MICHAEL CHANG: The thing is, I don't feel it's like one particular shot. I think if it was one particular shot, then I'd be able to know. There's something else that I'm missing. That's been the tough part. It hasn't been a lack of working at it, hasn't been a lack of time in the gym and stuff like that because I've been putting in the work that I know I need to put in. It's my hope that one day it will click (snapping fingers).

MICHAEL CHANG: It's possible. Honestly speaking, I feel like it's different if you're in your 30s or something, where that kind of tends to be the age now where people say, "Okay, my game is slowly declining." I think part of the reason for some of the other guys having to retire, they've wanted to move their lives on, do other things. For me, I still enjoy the sport of tennis. I enjoy it tremendously. For me to be out there playing is better than to not be playing at all.

MICHAEL CHANG: It's possible. I think in certain aspects it's probably true to a certain extent that the guys are young, they're hungry, and they're eager. I think at the same time I feel like part of this has to do with injury. It's always going to take a little bit of time to get back. I honestly feel that God wants me to go out and fight through this. Even when I fractured my hip at the end of '89, I really didn't get back to the Top 10 till two years later.

MICHAEL CHANG: Physically, I'm feeling actually pretty good. Injury-wise I'm doing very good, which is important. It's something that I'm going to continue to fight through. I think you have certain points that are valid. But I know that I'm not going to be out there playing if I didn't feel like -- if I didn't have that hope of being able to go out and get back. That's my hope. The tough times and stuff, they're never easy to go through. That's something I'm going through now. But at the same time I know God's going to bring me through. Whether I'm able to get back to the Top 10 or win another Grand Slam tournament, I really don't know. It's my hope. I'd love to be able to go out and finish off my career on a high note, but that's not something that I know will happen. Only God knows that.

MICHAEL CHANG: Next tournament for me is in Hong Kong. I'll probably go a little bit early, take care of some things, stuff like that.

MICHAEL CHANG: Honestly, I think if they employed the same laws that they do here in Florida as far as gill netting, because they allow gill netting up there.

MICHAEL CHANG: It's really big. There's conflicts, fights going on between Canadian, US salmon industries, fisheries, the tribal Indians, what they're allowed to take. I think part of it has to do with the gill netting. When they had gill netting here in Florida, it wiped out a lot of the fish. They have since banned it for a couple years. Now it's starting to rebound. It's a resource that you have to protect. Certain aspects, salmon have to fight their way through the tough times, too. That's something I have to keep working at. It hasn't been easy. In fact, it's been very frustrating. A lot of emotions and stuff rolling and rolling and rolling. I still have that faith. I'm not going to lose that faith. In certain aspects, I feel like you can break my serve, but you can't break my spirit. That's something I'm going to continue to work at. I think it's going to come. I don't know when, but I'll continue to fight through it. God's going to bring me through the tough times.