U.S. OPEN

September 5, 1994

Michael Chang

MICHAEL CHANG: It didn't take anything. I felt really good going into the fifth set. I still feel good now. I still feel like I can go out and play a couple of more sets. So fitness really shouldn't have come into play. I don't think the fifth set was -- fifth set was decided by few points that really turned things around. I think I had a few opportunities to break Andre, to break back and had a few opportunities also to hold my own serve, and from there, it would have been a whole -- just a whole turnaround. Andre was able to get away with a few points and, you know, from there I was down two breaks and it is just -- it is tough to expect to come back from that kind of deficit.

MICHAEL CHANG: No. You know, I still feel good. I mean, I have to kind of go back and take a look at the tape to see if I actually was slowing down, but physically I don't feel tired. The match was only two and a half, three hours old. I should be able to get through those kind of matches with no problem.

MICHAEL CHANG: A little bit. I wasn't able -- I think my percentage on the ad court was very low. I think on the deuce side, I was okay. I was able to win a lot of points on that side, but other than that, I think my percentage was very low, so a lot of times I was trying to win points off my second serve, so didn't get a whole lot of free points and I think in many of those games, it hurt me.

MICHAEL CHANG: Well, I think it always feels like that. I mean, you know, whenever you are at the Open it always feels like that. That is the way I take each match, in a sense. I take it as if each match is a championship match because each match is that important. You have to be able to come out and be ready to go. That is -- it is a little bit frustrating to lose the fifth set 6-1, but that is just the way it goes.

MICHAEL CHANG: Like I said, a few points really could have turned it around. I was down 2-1. I had a few breakpoints and, you know, just wasn't able to convert there. I had that -- I won that game. It would have been 2-2, I had good opportunities to win my service game 3-2. It is a whole different story from back on serve at 3-2 versus down 2 breaks, 4-1 with Andre serving. You know, that is just the way tennis is. In these kind of matches, that is, a few points are really what is going to make the difference. And, you know, it was just-- that was just the case today.

MICHAEL CHANG: I am used to it from Andre. It is expected. I think that certain players, when you are on the Tour for a while, you come to know certain players what they will do; what they will do, what they are not going to do. So I am fully aware of what Andre is, you know, doing or if he is talking to the crowd, it doesn't bother me because I am prepared for it.

MICHAEL CHANG: Yeah, hit one in the first match.

MICHAEL CHANG: Yeah.

MICHAEL CHANG: Sorry, who asked the question? First set, I think that for some reason, I wasn't quite used to Andre's ball. I was on my heels a little bit and, you know, wasn't quite able to set my feet straight and set up for my shots and, you know, I think that normally in these kinds of circumstances, I shouldn't be starting these matches slow; particularly today. Because the intensity was already there before even anybody stepped out on the court. You know, I am kind of disappointed with the way that the first set and the last set went and, you know, Grand Slam tournaments, you just can't do that. I think particularly against Andre, because you have to get on top of him fast, and he doesn't play as well when he is down. He plays -- he is a much better player when he is a front runner.

MICHAEL CHANG: To be totally honest with you, I don't think that he is at the top of his game. I have seen him play better, but he is playing well. I think that, you know, he is playing well, but I have seen Andre play better tennis and, you know-- we will just leave it at that.

MICHAEL CHANG: Yeah. I do.

MICHAEL CHANG: Actually, I think it was a 12 and under tournament because he stayed at my house, so he should have remembered that. Andre and I have -- we have played on a few occasions.

MICHAEL CHANG: I was like, shoot, I must have been like 9 years old.

MICHAEL CHANG: I don't remember, really. I guess I probably wouldn't have been a pretty good measuring stick.

MICHAEL CHANG: Yeah, he did, actually. He would hit underhand serves, things like that, but he had very short hair back then. So, you know, he didn't bleach his hair until later, so, I mean, things like that, but I think as years go by, he grew his hair long and got the earrings and gradually things started to go -- so...

MICHAEL CHANG: Not really. I just kind of like to leave it at that. I think that I had a pretty good strategy working for me. I think particularly in the beginning of the fourth set, I had that one break and I just held it throughout the whole way and, you know, was able to dictate play. I mean, I was able to do what I wanted to do. I was going out and doing it and being successful at it. That is the reason why I won the fourth set.

MICHAEL CHANG: Twice.

MICHAEL CHANG: Well, you know, you figure -- I guess it depends; you compare things to the French Open, you can say, well, I only played the French Open once and second year, you go and you win it, but you know, everybody -- I still feel like this is a really good tournament for me, comparatively resultwise to the other Grand Slams; my results here have been pretty consistent. I am hoping over the next few years they will continue to be consistent, but the results will get better. You know, I still -- I feel very strongly in my heart that this is a tournament that I am quite capable of winning, and I am just going to keep working hard; keep on working, progressing in my game, and, you know, when the time comes around for the opportunity to be there, I am definitely going to try and take advantage of it, and win this tournament. I think that is an important attitude for me to have because if I am -- if I don't think I can go and win these tournaments, just -- I may -- even all the Grand Slams, it makes no sense for me to even step out on the court.

MICHAEL CHANG: You know, it is tough to say, because I mean, I have lost five-set matches before and you can't always go by record. Record is just something that is on paper, and each match is different. Each match has different circumstances, and, you know, it is just -- you can't-- just can't expect to win matches because you have a better record than your opponents.

MICHAEL CHANG: I felt good. I still feel good now. It is just -- ill it is the frustrating thing you know, I think that I felt good going into the fifth set, obviously, after winning the fourth set and, you know, just wasn't able to kind of keep it going. That is the frustrating part of it.

MICHAEL CHANG: No. I mean, you know, for -- I am going to play Andre a heck of a lot more times than we have played already, and I am going to get my share. That is for sure. And he is going to have his share as well, and it is just going to be an ongoing thing until our careers wind down, until we step out on the court with canes. Because it has just been that way throughout the juniors all the way to the professionals and probably 'til the Senior Tour; it is just one of those things where you have grown up playing against each other; you know, including Pete and Jim, you have grown up playing against each other. It is just -- you know a cycle. Just reaching different levels. I think it is good in a sense because we push in the juniors, we pushed each other to get the most out of our games, then. I think now it is paying off for everyone. Everybody has got their time in the spotlight and for me, at the moment, looking at it today, I've just got to be patient for mine.

MICHAEL CHANG: I think had I had I realized some of the things that later in the match I would have tried to apply that earlier. I would have come out and applied those things right away. I knew if I am able to get on top of Andre, it is a much easier match for me to handle because he plays better when he is on top, and--

MICHAEL CHANG: Well, whole mixture of things. I think my percentage of winning points at the net was very, very good today. That was something I realized in the match and I was making a conscious effort to do it. And, you know, I think that I would have tried to maybe take a few more of those points in the fifth set because that is what really turned the match around.

MICHAEL CHANG: I think what people come to see tennis as far as what is good for the game, I believe each personality is good for the game. The reason I say that is because if you didn't have players like Pete, Stefan, myself, Courier, and everybody was like Andre, you know, there wouldn't be any -- there is no personality to clash it with. And, you know, Andre obviously makes a great contribution to the game of tennis, but you need the other guys. Because everybody has a personality. Everybody has a different style, a different game and you need it all. And I think you know, it is great to be able to have different personalities go up against each other, but I think even more important, you know, as far as tennis is concerned, it is important that tennis continues to grow; particularly in the children aspect because they are the future generations and they are the ones that are going to teach their kids and it is a chain cycle. So there is a whole bunch of things that contributes to the well-being of the game of tennis, but it is not just Andre. It is the whole sha-bang.