He was 17 years old. 5'9". 135 pounds. His serve was so weak that opponents laughed when they saw it. By every metric, he had no business being on the same court as Ivan Lendl, let alone beating him. But in 1989, at the French Open, this kid from New Jersey did something that still doesn't make sense. He didn't overpower anyone. He didn't out-hit anyone. He just... won. Here's how. #michaelchang #frenchopen #tennisanalysis #tennis #atp #sports #tennisstars
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He won? Because he Is smart
The og Diego Schwartzman 😁 Btw, 5'9 is his height in shoes. His real height is 5'7 3/4
Wait what? The title made me assume this video was about Wilander! 😂
This is complete and utter bollocks, Chang had an average first speed of 110 mph for the majority of his career (at the same time Connors had 100 mph). I do not remember anybody laughing at Connors serve…perhaps the article idea was good but why start in this manner???
Still taller than me.
Probably his placement of serving was effective but you can not win a Gran Slam with a weak serve 😂😂💪💪
It was still the craziest GS match I have ever watched!
A person who plays tennis with his brain is the most difficult to defeat
Michael Chang
Chang had little power back then but so did everyone else in the late '80s its relative that's why he won😅
glad to see actual players getting record straight on Chang.
So Chang was the proto Nadal
Asymmetric warfare, no less!
Is called smart tennis when required
my goat bruh
4 grand slam finals, French Open Champion, World number 2. Amazing achievements. I met Chang in 1994 and he was indeed probably 5'9 wearing his Reebok Pumps. I think Agassi was actually barely taller...maybe 5'10 with shoes but I think officially they say he's 5'11. I was 5'9 in the early/mid 90s (and still growing!) so had a good comparision...all Chang's weight were in his legs...seriously muscular and pumped legs. The guy had so much guts and balls to make up for the short falls in height etc. I remember he aced Sampras with a 2nd serve at the French Open but Sampras always makes negative comments about Chang's serve speed! If we're comparing Chang to other famous players of the era...Chang was never convicted of tax fraud and never went to jail (Boris Becker), Chang never took drugs and went off the rails (Agassi)..a model professional.
He drove Lendl absolutely nuts!
My friend played Michael in a tournament when Michael was 14 my friend a highly ranked 16 year old junior and Michael destroyed him. I’ve never seen someone hit so many corners it was impressive.
Chang pulled a guerrilla warfare VC style on Lendl.
This is NOT your typical journeyman Player. This is a hall of famer. One of handful players to have won titles in 3 different decades, a top 8 ATP ranking for 6 successive years, peaking at no.2, Four grand slam finals, and still to this day (37 years and counting), the youngest male player to ever win a Grand Slam title.