Chang’s Ascension Could Be Completed Today

On one side of the court, Andre Agassi’s side, it was a frightful day for tennis. The humidity soaked through the long-sleeved blue shirt that Agassi is forced to wear; the brutal winds kept blowing the ball off Agassi’s prime strings. And then the LaGuardia-bound planes kept buzzing the stadium court, the way ex-mayor David Dinkins never let them do. It was miraculous that Agassi was able to withstand an hour and 52 minutes of those conditions.

But on the other side of the court, Michael Chang’s side, it was simply a day for tennis.

Strange. Stranger still that the two U.S. Open semifinalists were required to change side every couple of games, and the world kept turning upside down on Agassi.

Chang, of course, doesn’t recognize anything on a tennis court except the existence of a yellow fuzzy ball that he will dive into rattlesnake nests to apprehend.

The result sneaked up on an unsuspecting National Tennis Center crowd - Chang, 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. For Agassi, it was unconditional surrender, and another detour in a career that has featured the sublime and the silly. Nobody bothered to ask if Agassi chose the Elvis Presley stamp when he mailed this one in.

“The match never really had the intensity,” Agassi said.

This came as a news flash to Chang. It was a tennis match. Therefore, it contained intensity. The fact that it was the semifinal of the last Slam of the year, and that either Agassi or Chang could use it as a springboard to No.1 if Pete Sampas falters, added to that.

Of course, Agassi is not the only tennis pro who fails to match Chang’s will. There are approximately 800 others.

Chang won 101 points to Agassi’s 77. Agassi made 45 unforced errors, or an average of 15 per set. The greatest serve-returner since Jimmy Connors watched Chang cash 83 percent of his first-serve points.

“He picked up his service game,” Agassi said. “He has added a big serve, which both hurts and helps. It hurts because if he is serving less than 50 percent, it is tough to really go through the top players. But then he defends his second serve better than any other player. I just felt he didn’t feel pressure on his first serve, so he was going for it.”

So the world wakes up to find Chang gunning for his second Grand Slam title. His first came when he was only 17, at the ‘89 French Open. It was deceptive because (A) Chang really wasn’t, and isn’t, a clay-court player and (B) he was still growing into his game. Sampras, Agassi and Jim Courier zoomed past him. Now he can catch them all. The USTA was criticized when Chang was seeded second, but why not? He is 22-2 since Wimbledon and 27-6 at the Open this decade.

“When you’re smaller than everyone else, you have to have perseverance,” said the 5-foot-9 Chang. “I’m just taking things point by point.”

He has done that his whole career. His improvement has been slow but irreversible. He was ranked 15th in ‘91, sixth in ‘92, eighth in ‘93, sixth in ‘94 and fifth last year. When he lost the ‘92 semifinals here to Stefan Edberg, through five sets and 5:19, Chang knew he wasn’t hitting the ball quite hard enough. He has solved that with a 28-inch racket, 1 inch longer than standard. He has used it for nearly three years now, and the price might increase a tad if he wins the final today.

“If I had a choice I would have probably played with the original Prince graphite the rest of my career,” Chang said.

Since it was discontinued, Michael’s brother/coach Carl looked into the longer model.

“We initially just tried to lengthen the racket and I was able to serve well, but once your serve came back, you were history because you weren’t able to keep the ball in play,” Chang said. “Carl had to work 14 or 16 months to get the racket right. He’s more creative, and I tend to take the more conservative approach, so it works out quite well for me.”

So Saturday was either the day that the diligent beat the dilettante, or it was the day the music died at the U.S. Open.

It depends on which side you were on.