Chang Will Play Davis Cup Against His Father’s Advice

Michael Chang, named to play singles with Andre Agassi for the United States against Austria in the Davis Cup semifinals, is doing it against his father’s advice.

Joe Chang said his son already has a heavy tennis schedule the rest of the year.

Chang is playing for the fifth consecutive week, in the Volvo International at New Haven, Conn. He takes next week off, then plays the two-week U.S. Open and a DuPont exhibition in Florida as a clay court Davis Cup warmup, then travels with the U.S. team to Vienna for the semifinal match.

“Michael wanted to play for his country, but from a father’s point of view, it’s going to be a really tough schedule,” said Joe Chang, who coaches his son.

Agassi last played Davis Cup when the United States lost to West Germany in the 1989 semifinals. He was named to the team for the quarterfinals in March, but pulled out two days after the team was announced in a dispute with team captain Tom Gorman.

Rick Leach and Jim Pugh will play their third Davis Cup doubles match after winning against Mexico and Czechoslovakia.

Thomas Muster and Horst Skoff are expected to play singles for Austria against Agassi and Chang.

The matches will be played outdoors on clay, Sept. 21-23, in a soccer stadium. If the U.S. wins, it would meet the winner of Argentina-Australia in St. Petersburg, Fla.