Michael Chang's childhood rivals Andre Agassi and Pete Sampras still are winning Grand Slam tournaments late in their careers.
Chang hasn't won a major since capturing the tennis world with his 1989 French Open victory, age 17 -- a big reason why he's decided to retire following this season, his 16th on the ATP circuit.
His final event will be this year's US Open. Chang kicks off his farewell tour in the Siebel Open starting Feb. 10 in San Jose, California and he spoke about the decision to retire for the first time on Friday.
Rollercoasting
``It's been a great ride and I still have the last part of the ride to go and that's something I'm very excited about,'' said Chang, speaking from his home in Mercer Island, Washington.
Chang said his inability to maintain a high level on the court led to his decision. Plus, playing 15 years on the pro tour has taken its toll on him.
But the 30-year-old Chang isn't ruling out winning another Grand Slam before he's done.
``If it's going to happen, it's going to be something miraculous,'' he said. ``If it doesn't happen, I can walk away with no regrets.''
Chang said he gave retirement plenty of thought -- noting he's not one to make spur-of-the-moment decisions.
When he's done with tennis, he said, he plans to dedicate more time to the Chang Family Foundation, a Christian outreach organization and possibly take some seminary classes.
Becoming the youngest to win in Paris in his second year on the tour is still a highlight for Chang, who has won 34 singles titles and earned just more than US$19 million in prize money. Chang's Grand Slam record is 120-54.
He became the youngest male to win a US Open match at the age of 15 years and six months in 1987 as an amateur.
He turned pro the following year. Chang helped the US win for the first time in eight years in the Davis Cup finals in 1990, and represented the US at the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona.
But the demands of tennis haven't been easy for Chang in recent years, he said. While he is happy to see the men he grew up with keep on winning, he wishes he could have had similar success.
Both Agassi, who just won the Australian Open and Sampras also are entered in the Siebel Open. Chang won his first tournament in the Bay area as a rookie in 1988, failing to drop a set through five matches.
``The last few years have been a little bit of a struggle,'' Chang said. ``I'd like to go out and give it one last push and give it my all. I feel like I've been so blessed to be on the tour. To play at this level for so many years has been tremendous.''
Chang can be satisfied with his career ``as long as I know inside my heart I've given 100 percent.''
He didn't want to announce his retirement after this season, because he believed it was appropriate to thank fans, tournament directors and the rest of the tennis community along the way. ``I didn't want to play a last tournament and say, `Thank you very much' and walk away from the scene,'' he said.
Misty memories
He will always have fond memories of growing up competing with Agassi, Sampras and Jim Courier.
They pushed each other then and they offer support to each other now, Chang said. The 1.75m Chang first played Sampras at age eight and stood taller than the 1.85m Sampras then.
``I think that if Andre and Pete had retired already, I think I would have retired already,'' Chang said. ``If I was on tour and didn't see them, it would seem like something was missing.''
They might feel the same way without Chang.
Japan’s Shohei Ohtani is the record-breaking baseball “superhuman” following in the footsteps of the legendary Babe Ruth who has also earned comparisons to US sporting greats Michael Jordan and Tom Brady. Not since Ruth a century ago has there been a baseball player capable of both pitching and hitting at the top level. The 30-year-old’s performances with the Los Angeles Dodgers have consolidated his position as a baseball legend in the making, and a national icon in his native Japan. He continues to find new ways to amaze, this year becoming the first player to hit 50 home runs and steal 50 bases
More than 180 years of horse racing came to an end in Singapore on Saturday, as the Singapore Turf Club hosted its final race day before its track is handed back to the Singaporean government to provide land for new homes. Under an overcast sky, the air-conditioned VIP boxes were full of enthusiasts, socialites and expats, while the grounds and betting halls below hosted mostly older-generation punters. The sun broke through for the last race, the last-ever Grand Singapore Gold Cup. The winner, South African jockey Muzi Yeni, echoed a feeling of loss shared by many on the day. “I’d
PREDICTION: Last week, when Yu’s father made a wrong turn to the former champions’ parking lot, he said that his son could park there after this year With back-to-back birdies on the 18th hole, Kevin Yu fulfilled his driving range-owning dad’s prediction that he would win the Sanderson Farms Championship and become Taiwan’s third golfer to claim a US PGA Tour title. The Taoyuan-born 26-year-old, who represented Taiwan in the Olympic golf at Paris, saw off Californian Beau Hossler in a playoff at the Country Club of Jackson, Mississippi, on Sunday. Having drained a 15-foot putt to claw his way into the playoff, Yu rolled in from five feet on the first extra hole, ensuring he joined Chen Tze-chung (LA Open in 1987) and Pan Cheng-tsung (RBC
LeBron James and eldest son Bronny James claimed a piece of NBA history on Sunday after making their long-awaited first appearance alongside each other for the Los Angeles Lakers. The duo appeared together at the start of the second quarter in the Lakers’ 118-114 preseason defeat to the Phoenix Suns in Palm Desert, east of Los Angeles. While LeBron James impressed with 19 points in just 16 minutes and 20 seconds on court before sitting out the second half, Bronny found the going harder with zero points in just over 13 minutes on court. The younger James attempted just one
RSS