Speaker 1: Hi everyone, and welcome to another episode of the Sitdown.
Speaker 1: I'm Ntrolope, a writer for oz open dot.
Speaker 2: Com and I embraced you it from the AO Show
Speaker 2: and I'm here filling in four viv Christi, who's currently
Speaker 2: in Shanghai. So let's get started. Why are we sitting
Speaker 2: down with Michael Chang this week?
Speaker 1: Matt, Well, we've actually already sat down with him, but
Speaker 1: we thought it would be cool to split out interview
Speaker 1: with him that we did during the US hard court
Speaker 1: season into two parts because a really cool thing about
Speaker 1: Chang's career was his success in Asia. More than a
Speaker 1: third of his career titles came in Asia. Amazing, yeah,
Speaker 1: incredible record, and he had enormous support there, which he
Speaker 1: talked about in the interview, and he won the very
Speaker 1: first edition of the China Open, which was played in
Speaker 1: nineteen ninety three. So we thought it might be cool
Speaker 1: to get his thoughts on Asian tennis how the game
Speaker 1: has grown in that region, working with Japan's Kane is Hikori,
Speaker 1: and we thought we'd bring you out this week while
Speaker 1: those players are all playing there. So here is the
Speaker 1: other thing we wanted to chat to you about was
Speaker 1: your success in Asia. You won twelve titles there. Looking
Speaker 1: back at your history, why do you think he was
Speaker 1: so successful there?
Speaker 3: I mean Asia with for me, it was just, uh,
Speaker 3: it was so easy to play and it didn't really
Speaker 3: matter I guess to what part of Asia, whether I
Speaker 3: was in Japan, I think it was probably most difficult
Speaker 3: to play me. I would say, uh, probably in China
Speaker 3: and in Hong Kong, just because of the crowd support
Speaker 3: that I got there, you know, and I it was crazy,
Speaker 3: and it's even you know, it's it's tough to describe,
Speaker 3: and in some instances it didn't really necessarily feel like
Speaker 3: a tennis match because the crowd was was so you know,
Speaker 3: was pulling for me. You know, my days over there
Speaker 3: were we're pretty crazy just to go to go do
Speaker 3: normal things. Actually was was very difficult, but it was
Speaker 3: obviously very exciting at the same time. And you know,
Speaker 3: I just think whenever you're you're in situation where you're
Speaker 3: playing and the crowd is just you know, cheering for
Speaker 3: you and they're always behind you. For me, I really
Speaker 3: enjoyed that I thrived on that, and you know, I
Speaker 3: just played some of my some of my best tennis
Speaker 3: you know, over in Asia, and you know, relatetionous the
Speaker 3: opportunities to to always go back back in the day,
Speaker 3: we used to actually go twice a year. Now actually
Speaker 3: it's only once a year, but we used to go
Speaker 3: twice a year, once in April and then coming back
Speaker 3: again in October. So so I did spend you know,
Speaker 3: quite a bit of time over there, you know, playing tournaments.
Speaker 1: That's amazing how the calendar has changed. I guess the
Speaker 1: Asian swing is still that septempoc tiber times post Us Open.
Speaker 1: You won the first China Open in nineteen ninety three,
Speaker 1: and I think it was a completely different tournament than
Speaker 1: it might have been on like indoor carpet.
Speaker 4: Or something like that.
Speaker 1: Yeah, what do you remember about that tournament and what
Speaker 1: tednis was like in China then, because that was very
Speaker 1: early day.
Speaker 4: Oh, it was very different. You know.
Speaker 3: Now obviously you've got these uh, you know, these beautiful
Speaker 3: stadiums and and uh, you know, basically these tennis facilities.
Speaker 3: I mean when I played, when I played in Beijing
Speaker 3: and and uh and you know shop well, Beijing actually
Speaker 3: it was probably been one of the first ones, and
Speaker 3: it was played almost like in a almost like in
Speaker 3: a in a basketball like arena almost and it was
Speaker 3: it was.
Speaker 4: Not that big. It It probably only seeded maybe.
Speaker 3: Maybe twenty five hundred people, you know, and uh, you know,
Speaker 3: they didn't really have pure tennis facilities like they do now.
Speaker 3: You know, obviously we've we've had the Shanghai you know Masters,
Speaker 3: You've got huge tournaments in different parts of of China.
Speaker 3: So when I first came out, there were no tournaments
Speaker 3: in China. There was one tournament in Hong Kong. And
Speaker 3: it took some time before, you know, before a particular
Speaker 3: a couple of particular promoters really kind of took took
Speaker 3: tennis by the helm and said, hey, I'm gonna start
Speaker 3: bringing tennis tournaments to to China.
Speaker 4: It took a little while, but they did a good job.
Speaker 4: And and you.
Speaker 3: Know, in fact, the uh you know, Michael Leveno, who
Speaker 3: who is still running uh, you know, the tournament in Shanghai,
Speaker 3: you know, was running a lot of those tournaments.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 4: You know, back in in in the day when I
Speaker 4: first started playing.
Speaker 1: I just had one other thing you made me think of,
Speaker 1: were there any Chinese players?
Speaker 3: Then there were Chinese players, they weren't certainly as well
Speaker 3: known and certainly didn't do do that well. A lot
Speaker 3: of times they would be offered, you know, wild cards
Speaker 3: obviously to play, but there were very few that I
Speaker 3: don't think there were any that I can think of
Speaker 3: that were in.
Speaker 4: Inside the top two hundred. I think, Yeah, Michael.
Speaker 5: What have you made of the growth of tennis in
Speaker 5: China to you won that title to A two years ago?
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean it's been exciting to be honest with you,
Speaker 3: you know, and I know that uh, you know, leading
Speaker 3: a success obviously, you know, I think spurred a lot
Speaker 3: of a lot of kids to pick up the sport.
Speaker 3: And uh, interestingly enough, tennis actually among amongst.
Speaker 4: Diplomats actually was very very popular back in my day.
Speaker 2: Uh.
Speaker 3: Sometimes I would have to go to events and say, hey,
Speaker 3: you know, this particular diplomat wants to play tennis, and
Speaker 3: I'd be kind of taken back a little bit, like, oh,
Speaker 3: he knows how to play tennis. I'm thinking, okay, maybe
Speaker 3: I'm giving a beginner a lesser or something like that.
Speaker 3: And I get on the court and I mean, these
Speaker 3: guys can play, and it's it's obvious that you know
Speaker 3: that they they know how to play, They've played for
Speaker 3: quite some time, they understand the game. But I think
Speaker 3: for the general public, not that many people were playing tennis,
Speaker 3: and so to be able to see tennis, you know,
Speaker 3: pick up in the in the universities and people you know,
Speaker 3: having interest to going to to.
Speaker 4: Learn the sport.
Speaker 3: And and obviously now you've got you know, quite a
Speaker 3: few different academies. You've got academies that are being started
Speaker 3: by you know, you know, by teams coming from Europe
Speaker 3: or teams coming from from the US.
Speaker 4: It's a whole different ballgame.
Speaker 3: So what what it was back then, uh, you know,
Speaker 3: where it was just really kind of a an introductory
Speaker 3: sport is now mainstream.
Speaker 4: You know, it's uh, it's it's it's huge.
Speaker 3: And you know, all these different provinces obviously are are
Speaker 3: investing their time and their effort and their and their
Speaker 3: funds into you know, trying to create champions coming from
Speaker 3: their particular region.
Speaker 4: And it's great to see.
Speaker 5: Chris Clary interview that Matt referenced earlier, you commented on
Speaker 5: seeing Asian names in junior draws and in junior draws
Speaker 5: to cheats and he said, it's special because I played
Speaker 5: a role in part of that and in helping some
Speaker 5: of these young kids maybe believe that Asians can go
Speaker 5: out there and play these sports and do well at it.
Speaker 5: In terms of your career legacy, how high does that sit?
Speaker 3: Well, I mean for me, it's I mean for me,
Speaker 3: and I mean not not just in the States, but obviously,
Speaker 3: you know, like I said, in in Asia as well.
Speaker 3: You know, I've taken time to you know, introduce the
Speaker 3: sport to uh two kids obviously wherever wherever I go.
Speaker 4: But I'm going to have you know, a little bit more.
Speaker 3: Influence in in the in the Asia Pacific rim I'm
Speaker 3: gonna have a little bit more influence with some of
Speaker 3: the you know, some of the Asian children, you know, naturally,
Speaker 3: and you know, I think it's a I think they
Speaker 3: gain a little bit of confidence in certain situations where
Speaker 3: they're like, gosh, I'm looking and I'm seeing Michael in person.
Speaker 3: He's really not that big, that much bigger than I am.
Speaker 3: He's not that much stronger than I am. You know,
Speaker 3: if he's able to go out there and be successful,
Speaker 3: you know, why can't die?
Speaker 4: Uh?
Speaker 3: You know, in the United States, I I don't think
Speaker 3: that sports was ever really a big focus. Obviously it's
Speaker 3: changed now, you know, the general mentality for for Asian
Speaker 3: families and their children would be education music that would
Speaker 3: be more of the tendency. But but now, you know,
Speaker 3: you have a lot of a lot of success and
Speaker 3: in a lot of other sports, and you know, people
Speaker 3: are starting to realize that, you know, in order to
Speaker 3: go and and you know, get into a great college.
Speaker 3: You you it's great to be smart, but it's even
Speaker 3: more beneficial if you've got other other qualities or other
Speaker 3: interests or other hobbies that you're really really good at
Speaker 3: that can also you know, help you become more more
Speaker 3: well rounded as a person. And sports is a is
Speaker 3: a great way to uh obviously connect people. You know,
Speaker 3: sports is also an unbelievable way to you know, to
Speaker 3: work on different characteristics in your in your in your
Speaker 3: personhood and uh and you learned a lot, a lot
Speaker 3: of lifelong lessons, you know, certainly through the sport of tennis,
Speaker 3: and I can imagine through other sports as well.
Speaker 5: Is it just a coincidence that in your coaching career
Speaker 5: you worked with a player of Asian descent in Kani
Speaker 5: sha kori or was that something that you always targeted
Speaker 5: and wanted to set out to do.
Speaker 3: I did actually target it. I did not actually seek
Speaker 3: the coaching position to work with K. But when the
Speaker 3: opportunity did come around and I was asked to the
Speaker 3: possibility of working with K, I I jumped at the
Speaker 3: opportunity because you know, at that particular time, there really
Speaker 3: weren't a whole lot of you know, Asian men that
Speaker 3: have done that have done very well. You know that
Speaker 3: at that time, I think Paradorn had gotten into the
Speaker 3: top ten. You know, Cecil had played you know, some
Speaker 3: some good tennis Cecil Mammet, but there weren't a whole
Speaker 3: lot of uh, you know, Asian men doing well. So
Speaker 3: you know, at that particular time, you know, K had
Speaker 3: been ranked in the top twenty I think for for
Speaker 3: the last couple of years, and you know, for one
Speaker 3: reason or another, you know, had difficulty breaking into the
Speaker 3: top ten. And and so I looked at it more
Speaker 3: as as an opportunity to help, you know, a talented
Speaker 3: young Asian player and try to be able to go
Speaker 3: out there and and uh and help him in his
Speaker 3: game and and uh you know, have an influence on
Speaker 3: him as a as a person, to help him, you know,
Speaker 3: help him strive and become the best player that that
Speaker 3: he can be. And and obviously was exciting to be
Speaker 3: able to see him, you know, that first year not
Speaker 3: only break into the top ten, you know, reach number
Speaker 3: four in the world, but also get to the finals
Speaker 3: of the US Open.
Speaker 4: So yeah, it was you know, certainly.
Speaker 3: A you know, exciting time and uh, you know for
Speaker 3: me and and Amber, you know, our youngest daughter at
Speaker 3: the time was really really young. But even even that,
Speaker 3: to have my daughter be at all these Grand Slam events,
Speaker 3: be at all the biggest Masters one thousands tournaments around
Speaker 3: the world, I'm grateful for it because she loves tennis. Now,
Speaker 3: she's thirteen years old now and she's playing you know
Speaker 3: a lot of you know girls sixteen another tournaments nationally,
Speaker 3: she's playing some international tournaments, you know, and I'm thankful
Speaker 3: to Kay for giving her that opportunity to be, you know,
Speaker 3: in that kind of situation. Honestly, if you have any
Speaker 3: young person, then they're getting a chance to watch you know,
Speaker 3: matches on center court and all the Grand Slams and
Speaker 3: all these big venues. How do you not fall in
Speaker 3: love with the sport of tennis. Yeah, that's so true.
Speaker 1: You mentioned obviously before Michael, you'll weed at Roland Garross.
Speaker 1: So that was in nineteen eighty nine. Do you consider
Speaker 1: that your brightest triumph or with the other like bigger
Speaker 1: milestones of highlights that came later in your career for you.
Speaker 3: I mean, I've had a lot of you know, great
Speaker 3: accomplishments and big milestones. I don't think anything will ever
Speaker 3: top the French Open in eighty nine. I think, had
Speaker 3: I actually even won another Grand Slam, if I had
Speaker 3: won the US Open in ninety six, I actually don't.
Speaker 3: I don't know if if, if, if, that would be
Speaker 3: bigger than winning the you know, the French Open in
Speaker 3: eighty nine.
Speaker 4: I think I still think people.
Speaker 3: Would know me for for the eighty nine victory, so,
Speaker 3: you know, just in the in the way that it
Speaker 3: was played, you know, in the situation in Tiannemn, was
Speaker 3: was happening during the tournament.
Speaker 4: I mean, there were just.
Speaker 3: So many things going on that that it wasn't just
Speaker 3: about you know, tennis.
Speaker 4: Those those couple of weeks amazing, Thanks so much. It
Speaker 4: was really cool.
Speaker 1: You've got great recall, so it was really great to
Speaker 1: hear all of those different, you know, decades and stories.
Speaker 4: I really enjoyed that.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I think it's some aspects when you've when you've well,
Speaker 3: you love tennis.
Speaker 4: You're so passionate about it.
Speaker 3: Some of these things are just still so so vivid
Speaker 3: in your mind, even though they happen some so, you know,
Speaker 3: quite a number of years ago.
Speaker 4: So amazing.
Speaker 3: I'm going through a different phase now with tennis. But hopefully,
Speaker 3: you know, hopefully I'll be back out on those Grand
Speaker 3: Slam courts. Uh uh, you know, watching my daughter, my son,
Speaker 3: you know, play somewhere down the road.
Speaker 4: That'll be uh, that'll be fun.
Speaker 1: That'd be amazing.
Speaker 5: It's wonderful that I love tennis so much. You must
Speaker 5: be really proud.
Speaker 4: Yeah.
Speaker 3: And my wife is a tennis player as well, so yeah,
Speaker 3: So I mean, you know, regardless, I think that if
Speaker 3: they play professionally, great, but you know, first things first,
Speaker 3: you want them to be passionate about something that that
Speaker 3: that means a lot to you. And let's face it,
Speaker 3: I mean, tennis is really a sport for a lifetime
Speaker 3: and and you know, just to have the opportunity to uh,
Speaker 3: to play all around the world, you know, use the
Speaker 3: sport to to meet so many different people is such
Speaker 3: a wonderful thing. And all the leafe lessons you learn
Speaker 3: along the way.
Speaker 2: How interesting that just his performance through Asia and then
Speaker 2: winning in nineteen eighty nine at the French Open, now
Speaker 2: rolling Garross. I was four years old when he won that,
Speaker 2: and I really do remember his name because obviously he
Speaker 2: went well into the nineties playing top tennis as well,
Speaker 2: and those were my peak years of sitting with my
Speaker 2: parents watching tennis.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, I'm a very similar age to you. I
Speaker 1: was around that age in eighty nine. And yeah, I
Speaker 1: started watching tennis in the mid nineties and Chang's actually
Speaker 1: one of the first players I ever saw play, because
Speaker 1: I don't think i'd heard of tennis and it came
Speaker 1: on at the ninety six Australian Open and I got
Speaker 1: hooked on it as a primary school kid watching and
Speaker 1: Chang made the final that year. So I watched a
Speaker 1: lot of his tennis then, and yeah, remember him through that,
Speaker 1: through that era. So it's kind of cool to talk
Speaker 1: to someone that you kind of watched growing up. For me, actually, yeah,
Speaker 1: you get to meet them, it's really little special. Yeah
Speaker 1: all right, Well, we'll be back again next Monday with
Speaker 1: another episode of The Sitdown. In between now and then
Speaker 1: you can join John and Bree and the team on
Speaker 1: the next episode of the aoshow weekly on Thursday.
Speaker 4: Details for how to contact.
Speaker 1: Us are in the show notes below, and please, as
Speaker 1: we always ask, subscribe, rate and review. See you next week, Bri.
Speaker 2: Thanks for having me. Bye,