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The American is not the most successful player on the ATP Tour. But he made tennis history in 1989, with an underhand serve against Lendl. Chang is 50 years old today.
Michael Chang was born on February 22, 1972 in Hoboken, New Jersey. The American is therefore celebrating his 50th birthday today.
AFP
Former professional tennis player Michael Chang, retired from the circuit since 2003, was born on February 22, 1972. He is therefore celebrating his 50th birthday today. Father of two daughters, Lani (11) and Maile (9), the American is very involved in charitable circles. He created the Chang Family Foundation and organizes the Chang Tennis Classic.
After winning 34 tournaments as a player, he moved into the coaching camp. He was called in as reinforcement by the Chinese Tennis Federation for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. He also took care of Peng Shuai’s training. Chang joined the staff of Japanese Kei Nishikori in 2013, as an advisor before officially becoming his coach.
A shot to go down in history
It was on June 5, 1989 that Michael Chang wrote his legend, during the Roland-Garros tournament. The oldest keep in mind the improbable blow that made the American famous: an underhand serve, which always makes the specialist in the field, Nick Kyrgios, jealous.
The scene takes place in the round of 16 of the French Open – and not in the final as some think – against Ivan Lendl. After trailing two sets to nil and plagued by cramps, Michael Chang managed to equalize from two sets all. In a fifth set of anthology, he exasperated his opponent, in particular by this service under the spoon.
Unlike some players who abuse technical tricks to destabilize the player opposite, Chang rather released this shot in desperation. He has only done it once in this match, and only once in his entire career. At that time, this service had been taken for a provocation and had shocked the tennis world, which was still very conservative.
Earliness records
That year, Michael Chang had continued his journey to the final. By this stage, he had beaten Sweden’s Stefan Edberg, becoming the youngest winner of a Grand Slam tournament at 17. This record is still valid, 30 years later.
Earliness records are an integral part of Chang’s career. On September 1, 1987, he also became the youngest player to win a match at a Major (from the open era). He was 15 years, 6 months and 10 days old when he beat Paul McNamee at the US Open.
