COMMENTARY : Family Pride Can Be Burden on the Court

The news conference was over and the Forum press lounge was near empty, but not for long. Quickly, a father’s pride filled the room.

“Three years ago, I predicted Michael would be the one to bring home the Davis Cup,” said Joe Chang, beaming as he leaned against a Kings trophy case. “That was in 1987, when I was talking to a tennis writer about the state of U.S. men’s tennis, which was very bad at the time. There wasn’t anyone. That year, Michael won one match at the U.S. Open and it became a very big story--this American kid won a match.

“But I say, ‘Look at three years down the road. Michael’s a good all-surface player. He should be ready by 1990. He will be the one to bring back the Cup in 1990.’ ”

The prophecy was realized three weeks ago and Joe Chang continues to bask in the glory.

“It’s been published all over the world,” he said. “The other day, someone sent me a story from India that said, ‘Michael Chang’s father predicted he would win.’ ”

Deep down, Michael wishes these people would stop sending Joe newspaper clippings. It only encourages him.

“I think he was crazy for saying that,” Michael said sternly. “I think he’s very lucky it turned out that I was able to contribute this year. . . .

“I’ve been cautioning him more and more not to say things like that, because it puts more pressure on me and if I don’t come out and do something like that, it makes me look bad and it makes him look foolish. I think that’s something you should keep to yourself.”

Michael and Joe have talked about it, but you know Joe. He’s not about to quit while he’s ahead. Soon, the topic turned to the tennis year of 1991 and soon, Joe was up and at it again.

“I think he’ll do well, because of the new ranking system,” Joe said. (Players will be ranked in 1991 by their comparative performance in events also played in 1990.) “Last year, before the French Open, he had won no matches. If he does anything early next year, he’ll be ranked very high.

“Who knows? By May, he may be at the top.”

Uh oh.

Actually, Joe’s math is a bit askew. Michael went 2-5 in pre-French Open matches, but that included going 0-4 at Memphis, Munich, the German Open and the Italian Open.

Either way, the point remains the same. Because the first third of Michael’s 1990 season was a wash--he had a fractured hip, made a premature comeback, then went into a subsequent retrenchment--he stands to clean up during the first third of 1991.

“It’s been an up-and-down year,” said Michael, who has seen his 1990 world ranking yo-yo from No. 5 to 24 to 10 to its current residence at 15. “But overall, it’s been a good year, considering the circumstances--winning the Davis Cup and reaching the semis in the Grand Slam Cup.”

The hip injury is a big thing to be over. This time last year, the consensus was that Chang, the 1989 French Open champion, would never be the same. It was a rare injury--a break in the hip socket, extremely unusual in sports--and Chang’s run-till-the-other-guy-drops game depends mightily on two fully functional hip sockets.

“I never thought it was totally career-threatening,” Chang said, “but during the first six months, I had these thoughts that go through your mind--about Jimmy Arias and Tracy Austin, great players who were so injury-prone, it really hurt their careers.”

He wobbled through the opening months of the year and by the French Open in early June no one was expecting anything--except, maybe, Joe Chang. But Michael reached the quarterfinals at Paris. Chang’s game became hip again. He made the semifinals in Washington D.C., the final in Los Angeles and won the Canadian Open.

Later, it was on to Vienna and St. Petersburg, Fla., for Davis Cup rounds III and IV and the gospel according to Joe Chang. Strange but true: Joe tried to talk Michael out of the matches against Austria because they were played on clay during the middle of the hardcourt season--another chance for Michael to slip out of sync.

This time, though, Michael won the debate.

“For me, I knew that to go to Austria, win or lose, would be exciting. It was an experience I might only get once in my lifetime,” Michael said. “We just tried to think of all the pros and cons and we decided that maybe this would be a good time to go.

“It was on clay, my best surface, and I had never played (a Davis Cup match) away, so this would be another new experience for me.

“I think, the way it turned out, it was a very positive experience.”

He might say that. Joe, of course, goes further. Father still marvels at the way son hung in during his winner-take-all match against Horst Skoff, which lasted two days and required Michael to rally from a two-set deficit.

“It was right after (Thomas) Muster beat (Andre) Agassi to tie it and the emotions in the stadium were running so high,” Joe said. “Skoff came in, ready to win it. With that crowd, he seemed unstoppable.

“But the funny thing is, Michael never seemed nervous. When he won the fourth set, they had to suspend the match because of the lateness of the hour and that’s when it turned around. Skoff had a whole night to think about it and right after Michael won the fourth set, I remember the Austrian captain saying, ‘Oh no, he always wins the fifth set.’

“He knew Michael had won his last seven five-setters.”

Eight would prove too much for the Austrians, sending the Americans home to St. Pete, where Chang and Agassi and the Rick Leach-Jim Pugh doubles team would prove too much for the Australians. Davis’ trophy was America’s cup again, just as Joe said it would be.

Now, 1991 beckons and with Phil Dent enlisted to bulk up Chang’s serve-and-volley approach, Michael believes more strides are within reach.

“I feel like I’m in a good position,” he said, “to go into 1991 strong, but quietly.”

As long as Dad’s around, quiet could be tough.