Speaker 1: Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of the sit Down.
Speaker 1: I'm Matrolope, a writer for oz open dot com.
Speaker 2: And I'm viv Christian, managing editor of Australian Tennis magazine
Speaker 2: and Matt. Why are we sitting down this week with
Speaker 2: Michael Chang.
Speaker 1: We're pretty fortunate to get Michael this week because it's
Speaker 1: a very relevant time of year for him. We're currently
Speaker 1: watching the Cincinnati tournament and he's a two time champion
Speaker 1: there and actually made four consecutive Cincinnati finals. He was
Speaker 1: also a Canada champion, he made the US Open finals,
Speaker 1: so this was kind of a time of year where
Speaker 1: he thrived in his legendary career. He won thirty four
Speaker 1: titles and more than half of them came on US soil.
Speaker 1: So he was kind of the perfect person to pick
Speaker 1: his brain about tennis at this time of year.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Absolutely, And while we were looking forward with Michael Chang,
Speaker 2: I was actually looking back a little bit as well,
Speaker 2: because he was the first interview I did with an
Speaker 2: international player at the very start of my tennis journalist
Speaker 2: All wow, So he was as generous now as he
Speaker 2: was with his time. Then let's have a listen to
Speaker 2: what he had to say.
Speaker 1: Thank you Michael Chang for joining us on the sit
Speaker 1: down today. It's great to have you.
Speaker 3: Thank you. Nice to be here.
Speaker 1: This is a great time of year two chat to
Speaker 1: you because we're now post Olympics into the swing of
Speaker 1: the North American hard court season and it's kind of
Speaker 1: you know, the US Open is rapidly approaching. And when
Speaker 1: we look back at your career, your first and final
Speaker 1: titles in nineteen eighty eight and two thousand both came
Speaker 1: on American So one was in the first was in
Speaker 1: San France, the second was in LA And more than
Speaker 1: half of your career titles came in the US. So
Speaker 1: I just wondered what helped you play or helped you
Speaker 1: find your best tennis on home soil.
Speaker 3: Well, I mean, I you know, I grew up in California.
Speaker 3: Everybody who grows up in California players are hard courts,
Speaker 3: and you know, it's a surface that I'm most familiar with.
Speaker 3: My biggest title obviously came on clay, but majority of
Speaker 3: my of my my victories have come on hard court.
Speaker 3: Is something very similar to it, you know, it's interest
Speaker 3: saying the uh, the hard courts do vary a little
Speaker 3: bit throughout the summer summer swing, and then I mean,
Speaker 3: I guess you can even count the spring as well,
Speaker 3: because ine Wells and Miami are are two huge, you
Speaker 3: know tournaments that are also you know, obviously happened in
Speaker 3: the in the US on hard courts as well. But uh,
Speaker 3: I mean I could I could almost go and and
Speaker 3: talk to you about each hard court event and what
Speaker 3: the tendencies are on on those services. I could tell
Speaker 3: you what the weather's like in certain places. I will
Speaker 3: tell you this, by far, year after year, the US
Speaker 3: Open in New York is by far the fastest out
Speaker 3: of all of the hard court services, without question. It's
Speaker 3: actually probably one of maybe only two that I can
Speaker 3: think of that I actually have not one in the US.
Speaker 3: And you know, the solar slower services obviously would uh
Speaker 3: suit me pretty well. The medium ones were pretty good,
Speaker 3: but the ones that were tend to be you know yourself,
Speaker 3: was just a little bit faster, certainly made it a
Speaker 3: little bit more difficult for me to play against you know,
Speaker 3: big servers, especially on days that they served really well,
Speaker 3: like a Sam person the you know, in the finals
Speaker 3: of of ninety six, or or losing the pat rafter,
Speaker 3: you know, in ninety seven. So yeah, but I could
Speaker 3: almost literally tell you what each of those tournaments are
Speaker 3: like speed wise and and what to expect.
Speaker 1: It's fascinating you should say that you've kind of predicted
Speaker 1: a little bit. My next question this particular part of
Speaker 1: the season. You won Canada and you won since E twice,
Speaker 1: and they're the ones that are kind of happening right now.
Speaker 1: We've also heard that this part of the season is
Speaker 1: like it's pretty brutal, like humidity, the hate. It's also
Speaker 1: coming like, you know, eight months into a long year.
Speaker 1: What does it take to thrive at this topic you
Speaker 1: because clearly you did.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I mean Cincinnati was a was a great stop for me.
Speaker 3: I actually got to the finals four straight years. Actually,
Speaker 3: so I have won. I won twice, but I lost
Speaker 3: twice as well. But you're absolutely right. The conditions there
Speaker 3: are absolutely absolutely brutal. They can be usually in all
Speaker 3: of these places there there tends to be one or
Speaker 3: two days in the afternoon where it just gets so
Speaker 3: hot and then thunderstorms come and they cool it off
Speaker 3: just for a little bit, but it is very hot,
Speaker 3: very humid. You know. I I can recall, you know,
Speaker 3: quite a few guys you know, having you know, heat issues,
Speaker 3: cramping issues, and I was certainly I was certainly one
Speaker 3: of them, and uh yeah, it was just not not
Speaker 3: that easy to to deal with. But I think I
Speaker 3: think this day and age, I think the players are
Speaker 3: I think they're a little bit better shape. I think
Speaker 3: they're a little bit more well prepared. I think they're
Speaker 3: more educated as well. Uh So I don't think the
Speaker 3: heat is as much of a factor just because I
Speaker 3: think the players are are a lot more well prepared.
Speaker 2: Michael, you are obviously famous for wing Roland Gross, but
Speaker 2: you actually won the most matches at a major at
Speaker 2: the US Open and went deep at that Grand Slam
Speaker 2: so many times. What was it like to play in
Speaker 2: New York?
Speaker 3: I mean, in New York is exciting. I think for
Speaker 3: any American, you know, this is our home Grand Slam.
Speaker 3: The New York atmosphere is very unique. You know, there's
Speaker 3: a lot of hustle and bustle. You know, there's a
Speaker 3: lot of uh, there's a lot of noise, you know,
Speaker 3: a lot of planes flying overhead, just a lot of activity.
Speaker 3: And generally speaking, players that that go to to New York,
Speaker 3: they need a little time to actually to kind of
Speaker 3: get used to the environment there because it is so
Speaker 3: different from from a lot of these the other tournaments,
Speaker 3: very different from obviously the other the other Slams as well.
Speaker 3: But at the same time, you know, in New York
Speaker 3: is an exciting place, especially if you're playing matches at night,
Speaker 3: you know, where the crowd just really can really get
Speaker 3: into matches. And and uh yeah, I played some some
Speaker 3: really late night matches there. I played one match, you
Speaker 3: know with McEnroe in ninety one where we finished at
Speaker 3: like one thirty in the morning, and John being from
Speaker 3: New York, you know, made it even more Uh we
Speaker 3: even made it more electrifying to to be able to
Speaker 3: play him there. So it's a it's a special place.
Speaker 3: But you gotta love the atmosphere, you gotta love the excitement,
Speaker 3: and and you got to be able to still at
Speaker 3: the same time, you know, be focused and stay focused
Speaker 3: because there are a lot of distractions.
Speaker 2: Was it your favorite Grand Slam?
Speaker 3: I don't know if necessarily in certain aspects it was.
Speaker 3: I have a family there, so it was nice to
Speaker 3: be able to have to, uh to stay with family,
Speaker 3: and also to to have family come out and support.
Speaker 3: But like I said, I mean each each Grand Slam
Speaker 3: has a different flavor to it. Uh. You know, the
Speaker 3: Australian Open, I know, is a favorite for so many
Speaker 3: players because you know, it's a very relaxed atmosphere. It
Speaker 3: almost doesn't feel like a Grand Slam, which is which
Speaker 3: is what what a lot of the players enjoy. You know,
Speaker 3: you stay pretty close to uh, you know, to the
Speaker 3: main site.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 3: The French is you know, very emotional. You know, people
Speaker 3: love to see your your your emotion, whether you're upset,
Speaker 3: whether you're whether you're happy. Uh, you know, and obviously
Speaker 3: Wimbledon is very has their complete you know, different kind
Speaker 3: of environment, different kind of uh flavor to it. And
Speaker 3: but yeah, I mean I had certain aspects, you know,
Speaker 3: because it is the US Open, because I'm American. Uh yeah,
Speaker 3: in many ways it was my my favorite. But you know,
Speaker 3: obviously the French will always always have a special place
Speaker 3: in my art.
Speaker 2: You reach the nineteen ninety six US Open final the
Speaker 2: same year that you reached the Australian Open final. Was
Speaker 2: that the season when you felt you were at your peak?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean pretty close to it. You know, I
Speaker 3: was playing some some very very good tennis. I don't
Speaker 3: know if you if you know this, but that ninety
Speaker 3: six US Open, I was literally one point away actually
Speaker 3: from becoming number one in the world. So obviously the finals,
Speaker 3: had I beat Pete Sampers in the finals, I would
Speaker 3: have been US Open champion. But I also would have
Speaker 3: been number one in the world. But there was a
Speaker 3: round of sixteen match. I believe that Pete Sampras played
Speaker 3: against Alice Correccia and they went five sets. He was
Speaker 3: throwing up in the fifth set. Koresha actually had a
Speaker 3: had a match point and had he converted on that
Speaker 3: match point, I would have been number one in the world.
Speaker 3: So and then obviously wouldn't have played Pete in the finals.
Speaker 3: You know, probably you know, probably one of the tougher
Speaker 3: players to play in that day and age, you know,
Speaker 3: because of the the court speed and and the surface.
Speaker 3: But but yeah, I mean I was playing very well
Speaker 3: that year, you know, and uh yeah, I mean it
Speaker 3: was a it was a good run for me and
Speaker 3: unfortunately just came up a little bit short.
Speaker 1: It's interesting you mentioned that story about being one point
Speaker 1: away because I read that recently at an interview you
Speaker 1: did with Chris Clary and I was just about to
Speaker 1: quote to you another part of that interview you said
Speaker 1: to it was a really good chat. You said to him,
Speaker 1: I look at my career and I'm incredibly blessed. I'm
Speaker 1: so thankful I had the opportunity to play the tournaments
Speaker 1: that I played at the age in which I played.
Speaker 1: So I was we were just wondering what the tournaments
Speaker 1: you were referring to and what was it about that
Speaker 1: era that made you feel thankful?
Speaker 3: Well, I mean, I think our generation for American players
Speaker 3: was very special. Honestly, I don't know if it will
Speaker 3: ever be duplicated, you know. So I'm the youngest actually
Speaker 3: of our generation, you know, which includes uh, you know,
Speaker 3: Pete Sampras, Andre Agascy, Jim Currier, you know, Malady Washington,
Speaker 3: Todd Martin. This is all of our our generation. And
Speaker 3: you know, I think what we've uh, you know, accomplished collectively,
Speaker 3: I don't know if it will ever be be duplicated. So,
Speaker 3: you know, I think that made it very special. And
Speaker 3: then to have the opportunity to play against so many
Speaker 3: great generations of players. You know, when we first came out,
Speaker 3: it was the Lindell you know, McEnroe, O'Connor's generation, Uh,
Speaker 3: the generation after that, which was you know, Boris Becker,
Speaker 3: Stefan Edbergh, obviously our own generation which also includes uh,
Speaker 3: Sergey brigera uh Goran Ivanizovitch, and then uh and then
Speaker 3: obviously the generation after that, which is Leyton Hewitt, Rod
Speaker 3: Soffen and Roger Fetter. So you know, it's a it's
Speaker 3: a pretty incredible, you know general, pretty incredible group of players,
Speaker 3: you know, spanning those generations, and uh, it was it
Speaker 3: was very unique and and challenging obviously, but difficult at
Speaker 3: the same time. We had such a mix of players,
Speaker 3: whether they were baseliners, whether they were attackers, whether they
Speaker 3: were certain voliers, chip and chargers. You don't see that
Speaker 3: actually as much of this at this day and age.
Speaker 3: You know, I couldn't even tell you. I couldn't even
Speaker 3: tell you three guys in the top ten or top
Speaker 3: one hundred now on the ATV Tour that are that
Speaker 3: are certain voliers. It's that it's that different now. So yeah,
Speaker 3: I mean it was a very special time. Certainly there
Speaker 3: were a lot of great competitors, which which certainly made
Speaker 3: it more difficult to win, you know, big tournaments and
Speaker 3: win majors. But I certainly don't have any have any regrets,
Speaker 3: because you know, have the opportunity to play against some
Speaker 3: of those great players was really really exciting. I missed
Speaker 3: beor on Board by just a little bit because he
Speaker 3: retired early and Novak hadn't gotten on tour at Rafa
Speaker 3: was just playing challengers at the time, So I missed
Speaker 3: those two guys by just a little bit.
Speaker 1: So when whilst your last year was at three two
Speaker 1: three three, okay, yeah, yeah, it's amazing what those names
Speaker 1: you mentioned and what you spanned. It's it's incredible you've
Speaker 1: always played them all. We have one more question for
Speaker 1: you if you if there's time, and it was just
Speaker 1: more about kind of the current era of tennis because
Speaker 1: we're in this transition period. We've had that incredible period
Speaker 1: of goats basically Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Serena, and one by
Speaker 1: one they're moving on from the game, which of course
Speaker 1: is going to happen. They've all had such long careers,
Speaker 1: but at the same time, we've actually got.
Speaker 3: A generation is going to stop yet. Actually, actually I
Speaker 3: don't think he's going to ever stop. I ever stopped.
Speaker 1: Well, he said he was targeting the LA Olympics.
Speaker 3: What he's done is just absolutely incredible. But you're absolutely right.
Speaker 3: I mean they're you know, we've had this this generation
Speaker 3: of players, you know, Roger, you know, Rafos winding his
Speaker 3: career down, Andy retired, you know, Serena retired not that
Speaker 3: long ago. I mean, you've got these incredible players, and
Speaker 3: thankfully we've got great young talent that they were able
Speaker 3: to take their place, and they're doing a great job.
Speaker 3: They really really are. You know, I mean, how can
Speaker 3: you not uh enjoy watching Alcarez out there. I mean,
Speaker 3: he's winning, but he's smiling. At the same time, Sinner,
Speaker 3: you know, young Sinner is just incredible talent, you know,
Speaker 3: very humble, uh and has got all the all the
Speaker 3: different kinds of shots. You know, So how do you
Speaker 3: not uh, you know, enjoy watching this new generation you know,
Speaker 3: kind of grow and mature and and really start to
Speaker 3: take their uh their place. But like you said, I mean,
Speaker 3: at the same time, what Novak is doing, what he
Speaker 3: has done, is mind boggling, absolutely mind boggling, even even
Speaker 3: in these past you know, a few months uh for
Speaker 3: him to play at the French you know, get surgery
Speaker 3: immediately after his uh after his last match there, and
Speaker 3: then to go into to play and and get to
Speaker 3: the finals of Wimbledon is one thing, but then to
Speaker 3: come back and beat Alcarez, you know, on clay at
Speaker 3: the Olympics, at roal on Garos, I mean, I mean,
Speaker 3: how do you I mean, I have no words for it.
Speaker 3: It's just incredible. And he's doing it at that at
Speaker 3: is thirty seven years old. It's just phenomenal. So h
Speaker 3: but I think it's been great to be able to
Speaker 3: have these guys play for as long as they did
Speaker 3: because it was so good for the game and and
Speaker 3: and you know, I think tennis is in really really
Speaker 3: good hands right now. Well, viv fascinating to hear.
Speaker 1: Michael finished the interview talking about how mind boggling Novak's
Speaker 1: achievements are because I found it really interesting earlier in
Speaker 1: the interview how he talked about he played so many
Speaker 1: generations that overlapped, but he'd narrowly missed beyond Borg and
Speaker 1: he at the other end of his career he finished
Speaker 1: in three. He narrowly missed me and facing Novak Djokovic,
Speaker 1: who I think first appeared on tour around four to five.
Speaker 1: You can just hear that he would have loved to
Speaker 1: have played Novak, given how much respect he has for
Speaker 1: what Novak's doing right now.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that was very interesting to me too. I love
Speaker 2: hearing about when the generations do overlap in tennis. And
Speaker 2: didn't he compete in an incredible era and constructor a
Speaker 2: wonderful career in that time. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Absolutely. And we'll be back next.
Speaker 2: Monday when we sit down with Simon Ray, who is
Speaker 2: the former coach of Nick Kurios and Sam Stozer and
Speaker 2: now a data analyst at Tennis Australia. And in the meantime,
Speaker 2: you can listen to John and the team on this
Speaker 2: Thursday on the Aoshow Weekly.
Speaker 1: And details for how to contact us aras always in
Speaker 1: the show notes below, and please subscribe, rate and review.
Speaker 1: We'll see you next week, Viv look forward to it,
Speaker 1: Matt