A Chat With Chang - Part Two - Continued
Q: One of the really iconic images of that match was you hitting that underarm serve. What went through your mind just before you did that?
Michael: I had such a difficult time holding my own serve during that match and when I started to get the cramps at the end of the fourth set I just couldn’t get up for a serve. Every time I went up for a serve my legs would cramp so I just pretty much had to arm my serve over the net and my first serve was coming in at maybe 65, 69 miles per hour and I couldn’t generate any pace. So strangely enough I was actually having more difficulty holding my own serve than I was breaking him which is kind of odd, so under those circumstances, I was down 15-30, and I just thought I had to try something different.
It was a real spur of the moment thing. Andre Agassi used to throw in the underarm serve in the 12 and unders so it crossed my mind and I just did it and I think that the tide of the match for some reason might have turned in that moment. Ivan started to think a lot more and all of a sudden the rest of the match was not the same and points started to turn into games and all of a sudden the match was over.
Q: Of your rivalries, one of the ones I enjoyed the most was you and Stefan Edberg. You obviously had the incredible victory, winning the French Open and beating him in the final. Then of course there was the five hour epic you had at the US Open which he won. I imagine those are two completely contrasting emotions for a tennis player.
Michael: Stefan and I, we played a lot. We bumped heads a lot and I have a lot of respect for him as a player. Everybody knows that he’s a great sportsman. I don’t even know how many times he’s won the sportsmanship award. But at the same time I learned a lot from him. I can recall one time in Tokyo we took the bus over to the site and he was sitting by himself so I thought, hey, this is an opportunity for me to get a chance to sit next to the world number one. So I sat next to him and I just picked his brain and I asked him what it’s like to be number one. He was telling me all these different things and he said you’ve got to enjoy it because you’re not going to be number one forever.
He was very easy to talk to and he’s always been very approachable. Maybe his quiet, humble demeanor made that possible. It’s not always that way with players who have been number one in the world, they like their space. But Stefan was always very different in that regard. He himself also because of his quiet nature, you did not see the fight in him until you got into the battle. It was evident in many of the matches he played.
Q: I look around the locker room and it’s noticeable seeing you in the generation of these huge guys - Ivanisevic, Krajicek, Stich - who were towering above you. And yet you managed to compete with them. Is that something that you are proud of, that frankly you defied any physical disadvantage and made it into an advantage?
Michael: I think for me a lot of that comes through faith and through belief. It’s something I try to share with young kids, especially that it’s easy to have this mentality that if I’m not going to be over 6 ft then I can’t compete in this sport. I think if you allow something to reign over your mentality and if you don’t think you can go out and compete against these guys then there’s just no way you’re going to be able to do it. I’m not the biggest guy out there, I’m probably one of the smaller guys out there now. But you use the talents you’ve been given which for me is the ability to be able to move, taking the ball early and good anticipation.
I don’t posses the power, blow-you-off-the-court type of game. But what I do have is all of those things and going out there and playing with my heart. It doesn’t mean I’m going to win all the time but it does mean that when I got on the court I’m sure as heck going to fight my guts out and I’m not going to give you anything and if you beat me you’ve got to take it from me. I think part of that has to do with my upbringing and part of that obviously has a lot to do with my faith. I grew up playing against guys who were bigger, stronger and sometimes better than I was and I learnt to deal with that. You’re not always going to have all the advantages go your way so you’ve got to take what you have and make the best of it.