Michaels Biography!

When we diehard tennis fans hear the name Michael Chang, we think of a consistent Chinese player that battled to be number one. Although Chang did not become number one, he became the number one hardest working tennis player.

Michael used hustle to make up for his height disadvantage. He stands only five foot and 8 inches, but in tennis magazines they list him as 5 foot and ten inches. One may think that height in tennis is not necessary, but it is. During a tennis serve, a player with his racquet reaches for maximum height. Also, competitive players like the professionals jump to get more height. This height translates to a better angle for the serve. It is easier to understand this concept by picturing it. A short person has to hit the ball in a parabolic shape to get the ball over the net and into the box. A taller person can hit the ball in a linear-like trajectory to get the ball over the net and into the box. An average ATP tennis serve speed is in the 130mph zone. Michael Chang’s fastest serve is only 130mph. Knowing his disadvantage, Chang used speed, agility, and strategy to beat other opponents. Chang started to develop these strengths from tennis day one.

On February 22, 1972, Michael was born in Hoboken, New Jersey. He was the second son to the Chang family. His brother at the time just started to play tennis. When Mike started playing better, they moved to California. He played in almost every tournament available. On a weekend when there were no high-level junior tournaments, he went to play in the Men tournaments. Ironically, Michael met Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras during these Junior and Men tournaments. Almost every time, Michael annihilated these two future stars. Now, they beat him majority of the time.

Mike broke in to the pros in 1988 and during that year, he won the San Francisco open and ended up with the rank of 30. In 1989, he won his first and only grand slam, The French Open. Later, he went on to win London-indoor open, and a finalist in Los Angeles. At the end, Michael’s ranking jumped from 30 to 5. In 1990, Mike won the Toronto open, but lost in the finals in Los Angeles and London- Indoor. The final ranking of that year was a dismal 15. Next year, he won Birmingham but lost in the finals of the Grand Slam Cup and ended up with a ranking of a dismal 15. In 1992, Michael emerged victorious at San Francisco, Indian Wells, and Key Biscayne, but fell in the finals at Hong Kong and Grand Slam Cup. Fortunately, Mike ended up with a ranking of 6. The next couple years, Michael finally obtains the ranking of 2. For the last two year, Michael’s ranking has been slipping due to injury. We hope he goes on to get the ranking of number 1. Go Michael!

Links!

1. Michael Chang CyberSpace

2. Michael Chang Lastest News

3. ATP Tour Ranking

4. See Michael's racquet!
   

A Shout to all my home boys!

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