Applaud him for his young age, for his impudence and the impudence to overturn the rules and convictions of the good manners of tennis , in one of the most authoritative scenarios of this sport. Or to boo him or at least criticize him for the same reason.On
June 5, 1989, during Roland Garros , the Philippe Chatrier public, at least for a few moments, between disbelief and a modicum of satisfaction, finds himself at this crossroads: in the eyes of the spectators , on the red clay in Paris, in the eighth final one of the most abstruse sporting enterprises is taking place : on the one hand the Czechoslovakian Ivan Lendl, world number one at that time and already winner of three editions of the Parisian Grand Slam . On the other, the creator of this memorable page for tennis: Michael Te-Pei Chang , clean-shaven and shy American of Taiwanese origins, just 17 years and three months .
Match to be completed in one turn of the short hand, many must have thought and, perhaps, Lendl himself who, in a smooth and predictable way, takes two sets to zero: a double 6-4 that boils the inevitable technical abyss but also of experience between the little boy and the champion.
Then the drop in concentration and the lack of a paw to permanently close the accounts: so Chang, catching some too many distractions from his rival, manages to snatch a set with the result of 6-3. “Yes, ok, now Lendl can do it again in the blink of an eye” , they will have whispered in the stands. “He’s taking his breath away ,” thought the others. Michael Chang seemed to have run out of gas: the appreciable all-competitive attempt of a carefree seventeen-year-old who puts the enthusiasm beyond logic to push himself beyond his limits .
Cramps and other ailments have, in fact, almost put him out of the game. When everyone thinks about retiring, Chang knowing he is doomed and physically compromised as wellthus he begins to play by upsetting tennis in a slovenly, heretical, unfortunate way : lobs to take time and above all the service from below . Her stuff that perhaps not even beginners in the first tennis lesson do not do anymore .
In the French nobility, in the temple of perfection, it seems an attack on the system with grotesque and burlesque nuances : Lendl gets annoyed, teased, but with logic that forces the champion to go under the net, leaving Chang the field to pull winning passersby. A long series and the fourth set flies to 6-3 in favor of Chang .
(the series of lobs to catch Lendl’s breath and impatience)
The decisive set, the fifth,deviates from reality to go beyond logical limits : the American uses all the means and psychological tricks to ignite the soul of Lendl who, dismounting from his composure, yields without too much bon-ton to provocations: Chang abuses the physiological pause and, in between stops, eagerly peels bananas on bananas to get potassium and reduce the risk of cramps. If this practice seems appropriate to us in the modern era, it must be said that he was the first tennis player ever to introduce this custom .
(Lendl and Chang at the end of the game)
As expected, the history of tennis passes through his racket, or rather from the lack of logic with which he led the whole match: at 5-3 in favor of Chang, and with Lendl on the serve, the boy clamorously moves to 15-40. Two match points to make your legs shake, to catch your breath, give yourself a couple of slaps in the face to say to your conscience: “Let’s not do stupid things” . But his rational conscience had been on vacation for several hours and, after a grueling match that lasted 4 hours and 38 minutes , the Czechoslovakian capitulated.
Because Chang still finds a way to take the breath away from the audience: on Lendl’s second serve, the minor decides to play for the point by advancing a few centimeters from the rectangle of the serve, definitively unleashing the wrath of Lendl who first tries to ask for respect for the rules (allowed move) and then loads the service, but badly throws it against the net. The ball settles on the baseline as the audience explodes into a roar and Chang falls into the dust .
(the serve with the shot from below, from the first tennis lesson, and the reception on the service that gives him the victory)
Michal Chang, on that occasion, will win the first and only Grand Slam tournament of his career, becoming the most young tennis player to win the Parisian tournament. With a couple of bananas, a shot from below and a lot of cheek.
