When Michael Chang Beat Agassi AND Sampras to Win Toronto 1990! | Classic Tennis Highlights

[@squeedum4893]

Ah, the long-lost, golden age of American tennis. What a beast Michael was!

[@larrybu2000]

Chang is GOAT of short players. He is very incredible, super fast and played so smart, never give up.

[@joemarshall4226]

Maybe not the GOAT. Rod Laver was the same height! And Ken Rosewall was an inch shorter!

[@gratefulmusicsound8337]

@@joemarshall4226 Rod Laver just play in other era. That power tennis doesn’t introduce yet. Imagine Rod in the same age play with Chang would be fair to say.

[@johnmontojo4664]

Who is the GOAT then of tall players

[@ansr193]

@@joemarshall4226 in the modern era I would take chang as the best

[@joemarshall4226]

@@ansr193 Michael reached number 2 in the world, and just missed number one by one match, so it's a fair opinion. Jimmy Connors was just an inch taller than Michael, and he has the all-time record for matches won (almost double what Michael won) and tournaments won...109 to Michael's 34. Jimmy played from 1972 to 1994, and made it to the semifinals of the US Open at 39, in '91. So it depends on how you define "short" and how you define "modern" John McEnroe and Andre Agassi were each only two inches taller than Michael. Maybe Michael's best challenge came from David Ferrer, whose career coincided with Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic in their primes. David was the same height as Michael, and reached number 3 in the world, and won about 70 matches more than Michael, at almost the same winning percentage (66% to Michael's 68%). The players were much taller during David's time. Michael is the same height as Serena and Margaret court, who was condiered a giant in her time! LOL. Now half the top girls are 6 feet!

[@Takkyyyyyyyyyy]

Michael Chang is Kei Nishikori's coach😊😊😊

[@DanielBoonelight]

gosh i can remember an entire youth wherein if i was losing a match or whatever, i would casually say "okay, michael chang comeback right here..." it's great seeing this agassi footage and more again, because it reminds me exactly why.

[@ronnie5288]

Omg.. it’s been 30years.. time just flies without knowing..

[@rockesh123]

Tennis TV, thanks for the upload! Golden Days of American Tennis

[@zeddeka]

Chang actually dominated Sampras in the early days. He won their first 5 meetings - including a 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 win at the French Open in 1989. It wasn't until the grand slam cup in 1990 that Sampras won for the first time.

[@hellorg]

So true thanks for pointing it out. However whiles Chang was beating Pete, he struggled to beat a fellow American named David Wheaton. Know one knows that.

[@bsc40]

I believe Sampras acknowledged in his book he had a mental block playing against Chang early in his pro career stemming from their junior days in SoCal.

[@rignatz9799]

@@hellorg I did! I recall Wheaton beating Chang at the 91’ grand slam cup. Wheaton also had a good record against Lendl. I loved that era of tennis - all the different playing styles and surfaces.

[@joemarshall4226]

@@rignatz9799 Wheaton got injured or he would have continued to be a top player. He had to retire while he was still young.

[@nomomania6827]

After Sampras got his great serve going, then he began dominating Chang and the rest of the field. All time H2H record: Sampras 30 Wins to Chang 21 Wins

[@MrSleepAllDay]

Gotta be honest I haven’t seen Chang play much at all. But it’s so impressive for his counter punch. And what a control for ball direction and super solid all around techniques

[@CoachAdrian]

Loved how Chang would hit a high topspin looper, then rip it in the next shot! Smart tactics 👍

[@goldwolf5160]

Chang was a true warrior on court and gave 100% in every point! He was my favorite before my lovely Rafa came along! Now known as GOATDAL!!! 🤣👍🎾

[@dtv2031]

Chang was undersized but had heart of a lion. He could run all day. What I notice in these matches are no grunting and no fist pumping after every single point. Tennis etiquette was so much better back then.

[@UchihABitachi]

Insert Eurocentric Neanderthalic grunting here. Ha-auuuuuuuuuuuuughhh!! Ha-eeeeeeeeeeeeehhhh!!!!!

[@joemarshall4226]

@@UchihABitachi The first controversy about grunting started with Jimmy Connors, who hardly grunted at all compared to modern players. Then Monica Seles started to squeak louder, but they called it a grunt anyway. Then Serena and Venus started SCREAMING. Then Maria Sharapova equalled their level. So Americans were just as important in starting the grunting habit as Europeans. Moncia became an American citizen, and Sharapova has lived in the USA since whe was 7.

[@UchihABitachi]

@@joemarshall4226 well ok you got a few Trail Blazers & even that is debatable. But what is with absolute certainty is that it is a plague with all the European players now. They can make all the noises they want in their homes, but leave it out of the tennis court.

[@joemarshall4226]

@@UchihABitachi It is part of the game now. If I were a coach, I would teach my players to use ti to their advantage, especially on big points. BTW, did you see the call in the Djokovic Sinner match, where Djoker grunted louder than he had all match one point, and the chair called the point for Sinner based on distraction of the opponent. (Hindrance) It was very similar to when Serena was called for it at the US Open, only she yelled "Come on!" before the opponent hit the ball. djokovic jsut yelled a loud grunt, but he didn't START his grunt until after the ball crossed the net! McEnroe went crazy, thinking it was a bad call, but I thought it was a GREAT call by the chair umpire.

[@UchihABitachi]

@@joemarshall4226 yea it’s true. Good call. Have you seen that Egyptian girl lately that’s been climbing the ranks by adding excessive grunting to her game? Mayar Sherif. I’m so annoyed by both her grunt & it’s intent. She hits the ball & has long delayed grunts so her opponent is about to hit the ball & her grunt starts & ends after their stroke is complete. I believe it’s a 2 part grunt too to make it worse.

[@twinwankel]

I've had the great pleasure of watching Michael Chang live in two Citi (Legg Mason) tournaments which he won. If you want to see speed, there is no one alive that is as fast as Chang. No one even today could beat him on court. If he had a more consistent first serve, he would have won a hell of a lot more majors. That was really all he was missing. His first serve percentage was simply not high enough. I wish he had changed coaches and moved away from his brother Carl to a more established coach. That might have made the difference. But regardless, his backhand is remarkable. There was one point in the championship game where he just crushed a backhand at least 100 MPH at his opponent. All the opponent could do was stick out his racket and block it back in defense. Never seen anyone crush a ball that hard before. As the video can attest, Chang also had a killer running forehand. He blistered that ball back. Two of my all-time favorite players were Chang and Agassi. But I liked the bald Agassi version better. A much more finished product.

[@joemarshall4226]

De Minaur is even faster, though not as successful as Chang, and I think a young Andy Murray might have even been faster than the Demon..

[@jamesbastani4295]

We lived in the DC area during the nineties and went to all of his five championships! He holds the record for that tournament. He was beautiful to watch! We also saw him at the U.S. Open, but from mediocre seats.

[@brianlin4044]

we can tell in the comments who actually plays tennis. as well as those who understands eras and the evolution of playstyles.

[@J.-M.]

It's amazing how modern the first match looks. Many "classic" matches from decades ago feel almost like a different sport, but Agassi (not Lendl, Sampras or anyone else) to me is the real father of modern tennis. His strokes in this match are so smooth, effortlessly powerful, taking the ball so early... Oh, and the camera angle is great, and red courts were cool.

[@zeddeka]

The Bolletieri style. He had such a stable of great players, almost all baseline bashers. Agassi, Seles, Courier, Pierce.

[@J.-M.]

@@zeddeka Yeah, and they all came in the late 80s/early 90s. Ironically, many people think that the 1990s were a boring period where all you could see is a serve, and maybe one or two-shot rallies. Because people keep repeating that "Sampras-Ivanisevic in Wimbledon" (which you could see once a year) myth as nauseum. Far, far from it. As this video shows, too, the 80s and 90s were the real golden era of tennis, with the greatest variety of playing styles and exciting matchups (even Sampras, a serve-and-volleyer, had to play baseline tennis on many surfaces, because the surfaces were not homogenized, and baseline players often played serve and volley on grass). And of course an era where young generations could always overcome the previous generations, as it always happened in tennis and every other sport until now. That's the era when tennis was still healthy.

[@funnyzeitgeist1346]

@@J.-M. I enjoyed tennis inlate 90's as kid and even now, good tennis match is good tennis match. Mostly it is used a strawman argument by people who wish to anoint someone as term I hate, GOAT, I mean goats are cute or good on dinner plates but let humans be human end enjoy the game.

[@CSV1973]

everyone plays pretty much like Agassi but scrambles like Chang… sorry but wish more would play like pete

[@lotus630]

well, Lendl is around 10 years older than Agassi as well so it's less of "Agassi is the real father of modern tennis" and more of "Agassi was a pioneer who stood on the shoulders on a giant (Lendl)"

[@pranavsreedhar1402]

man were those courts fast. todays players may not be able to play at that rhythm.

[@WONGLER]

Nobody mentioning the great performance of Jay Berger in this tournament..... I loved his style of Serve

[@caroleastmond9064]

Chang, was always wonderful!!!💐💐💐💐💫

[@shabzone]

6:00 he was hitting a ball over his head and his racket started at his knees. Crazy swing path for the backhand winner!

[@smartspacex5951]

@Tennis TV Great upload. Incredible high quality highlights in both tennis and video quality. Thank you so much!

[@nbiscuitz]

i like the racket hitting sound, so crisp...and awesome showing ball speed

[@rebecalinares5393]

yes today no sound at all, its like their playing a metaverse robotic cosmic game out there. Horrible.

[@smartspacex5951]

@Tennis TV In 95 year-end masters cup, Chang also had a great run, beating 3 big players Muster, Courier and Sampras en-route, and only lost to Home Favorite Boris Becker in the final. By any chance, would you make a classic highlight for that run as well..? Thank you so much in advance!

[@dannywhite9975]

2:58 wow!!

[@Joseph-zh7fm]

Man. I just love this camera angle

[@3883melange]

So incredible!!

[@leechrec]

Sick match by Chang against Pete

[@sirporkrib7643]

It was a time when a defensive baseliner like Chang would come to the net whenever there is a good chance, and then hit great volleys pass the opponent.

[@VladK181]

When I see how Sampras is playing I'm watching the elegance and power of a panther.

[@scottr8360]

Chang was an incredible underdog (undersized and understrong compared to his competition). He made believer out of his audience.

[@zeddeka]

Interesting that Chang seemed to change his tactics when he fell behind - throwing in some near moonballs to break up Agassi's rhythm.

[@jeffhermida4788]

awesome how he gets short ball replies from some of those moonballs too!

[@jerrysmit5669]

He pushes when he’s losing just like me 😎

[@smartspacex5951]

When nadal falling behind against federer, his heavy top spin lefty forehand will hit moon ball to federer's backhand as many as possible, and then go for the short balls landing in the middle of the court.

[@petershearman5098]

moonball then crush the next one for a winner

[@陳柏安-q5k]

at age 17 he is already the top 5 level, we all know he dont have the power and swing speed, but the stamina, and running speed and accuracy is how he win the tournment and be world champion

[@yohohoho-yohohoho]

Let’s just say Chang is very good from behind

[@lotus630]

*wink wink

[@Avalokitasimha]

14:24, unbelievable!

[@notsohandytim5090]

"Pete Sampras the number 5 seed"...we didn't hear it put like that very often.

[@TrungVu-nq9en]

Agassi is so gaceful even in loosing. Great sportsmanship

[@TrungVu-nq9en]

The most graceful athlete. Only good things to say about other poeple.

[@jonathanlee5314]

Yes, immediately coming around the net to congratulate his opponent wholeheartedly. Class act.

[@James-pl2oy]

The era of tennis that got me into the game. US men’s tennis at its finest. Who knew Chang would emerge as the first to win a grand slam. And yes, Chang owned Sampras throughout their Juniors years. Then Sampras matured and grew into his game and the rest was history

[@kiki13121984]

Back in the day when the fast tennis surfaces were actually fast...

[@rebecalinares5393]

when tennis was tennis, not todays joke

[@valfar27]

17:12 What a mistake!

[@claynails4391]

It’s interesting to look back at the arc of agassis career. Around this tine he had great strokes but was kind of a joke. Should have beaten Gomez at the French earlier that year. At about age 29 or 30, got fit, developed better tactics and became a legend.

[@sabritebourski9486]

Tennis golden years

[@kingadjust5422]

BWEEEH!!!

[@samisfun868]

cant believe how close the ball boys/girls were to the court. none of those federer/novak/nadal around the net post shots were possible back then lol

[@dannywhite9975]

MC looks like a shorter Nadal 2 me. He's everywhere.

[@-BigIi-]

So silent.. the days when tennis players didn't grunt for every shot, yet these guys are playing their heart out and are so silent about it.

[@Ivanatis]

AND Jay Berger!

[@spootnik00]

14:27 Clutch Chang that was insane

[@j.jmcquade5278]

Couple thoughts here: 1 - Sampras & Agassi would go in to reach the US OPEN Final a few weeks after this. Both were in TOP form. Huge accomplishment to beat them back-to-back, when they were both in top form. 2 - Ive been watching a lot of Lendl matches lately. Watching Sampras from this camera angle makes me realize how similar Sampras's game was to Lendl, but a little bigger in EVERY area. Similar forehand with the elbow hitch, but hit harder. Similar backhand, but better slice & Topspin. Similar serve, but bigger. Similar movement, but more athletic & more explosive. And a much better forward game and better volley. Sampras was basically Lendl off the ground & serve, but a level higher in EVERY category, with a dominant forward game that Lendl didn't have

[@tigerbalm666]

I met Michael up in Puetz golf in Seattle...he was not 5'8"...more like 5'5"

[@totoroto21]

only if Nishikori had half of Chang's grit and will power, Nishikori would have won at least one major.

[@rebecalinares5393]

nishijori had 0 charisma and passion. The chickenest player ever. He And Chung.

[@alanwolverine346]

Chang can easily add more grand slams trophies had he got real pro coach

[@rebecalinares5393]

no he reached his top ... he was short that was his problem

[@alanwolverine346]

@@rebecalinares5393 Height was given and there's no point to discuss. His technique could have been better, and having brother as coach is not really professional.

[@rebecalinares5393]

@@alanwolverine346 Doest matter who coaches you unless it suites you / produces results. Its important to "look professional" or to deliver results? ... Whoever coached Chang would not have produced a player with multiple slams or a better overall career than Chang. He reached the finals of AO against Becker. With a better coach do you think would have beaten Becker? .. No Or Sampras in the ´96 Us Open final? He was very lucky against Edberg in the FrenchOpen final ´89. Edberg should have broken to serve for the match in the 4th set had like 15 break points coulndt convert. Chang was a great player but lacked height and maybe some special talent. Was not a Marcelo Rios or even a Jaime Yzaga, a short but ver skilled and talented peruvian who defeated Chang almost everytime they played, including a 4th round epic at FO ´94

[@TennisOnAction]

Kei couldn't learn anything from Chang now hired Max.

[@subzoroboy]

these guys mooballed way more than player today, and tenni fans nowadays complain that nadal moonballs lmao

[@rebecalinares5393]

nadal got the help in his game because of the technology. He wouldnt been able to beat that competition consistently what that past early grpahite ... less so wood, no chance, no chance.

[@shabzone]

Agassi walking to Chang's side cuz he knew he was cramping. What a class act

[@cobrakaiX]

Could be the angle but I can’t believe how close the back wall is to the baseline. Feels like they have no room to move.

[@tigerbalm666]

Ahh...the glory days of US tennis...like the hayday of hair metal! American tennis will never be this guud!

[@rebecalinares5393]

yeah the Jovi-motley - poison days

[@katerinadicamella]

Chang was not a talented player, a lot of his shots were mid-court, short, nothing much on it, honestly in the eyes of those who try making a top-player Chang doesn't have much to be considered. But Chang has a heart for tennis, he turned his disadvantage to his advantage. Chang is short so he focused on his movement and speed, others have talent produce beautiful, amazing shots, he shows his perseverance and spirit of a relentless honey badger on the court, he never gives up fighting, he wouldn't be the top player he was if he does not have those qualities, that is why always nerve-racking watching him play but when he wins a close match the satisfaction I got was so much more than I did watch any other tennis players!!

[@smartspacex5951]

Chang was immensely talented - and one of the very best athletes tennis has ever seen. Some of his improvised shots were incredible and he actually could do a lot of really neat trick shots which he never did in serious matches - which one would expect given his mindset. When Chang was young he was taken to the Olympic center in Colorado for testing - he tested at elite levels in every test they had - footspeed, reflex, balance hand eye.... they said he had every hallmark they look for in world class athletes - except height. So yes.... the only reason Chang thrived was that despite his height, he was extremely talented.

[@smartspacex5951]

Chang was one of the most consistent top players in 90's alongside Pete Sampras. They both qualified for year-end masters cup for 6 consecutive years from 92-97.(Certainly Sampras's streak was from 90-2000). There were so many powerful players, serve and volley players and variety of play styles, and variety of surfaces in 90's... with all those taken into consideration, you could image how Great and how special Chang was with his lightning speed, incredible court coverage, intensity and dedication, and variety of skills.

[@LOLONO666]

i remember when he defeated Lendl and i was shocked,,i thought Lendl had a bad day

[@kofiofosu9051]

I’m sure that after Berger lost the second set he must have thought…oh man, not again!

[@gevang4538]

A ace at 29 mps i Never see this in pro tennis waw against Agassi more.

[@lysambodia]

His mains weapons, his legs.

[@android1617]

I always thought Chang was considered tiny for a tennis player. He doesn't look that much shorter than Agassi.

[@jojob285]

Chang is like the Bruce Lee of tennis.

[@lysambodia]

bad comparison

[@jojob285]

@@lysambodia why is it a bad comparison?

[@jeffhermida4788]

Can you imagine if Chang was sliding like Rafa and Novak nowadays!?!? He wouldve gotten to way more balls back then!

[@rebecalinares5393]

was not possible, courts were faster and raquets dindnt had the pace and power as todays ultra modern strings and technology. Its all about technology now, its not that now they are better.

[@invictuz4803]

Why does the ball sound so hollow. Was the ball actually different back then?

[@Barnstable11]

Forgot that Jay Berger could hit that ball a ton, just not much mobility.

[@rebecalinares5393]

Berger beat Pablo Arraya in a 5 set 10-8 6 hour battle down in Lima Peru in the 1988 Davis Cup 2nd round Agassi had beaten Yzaga in a 4 set tight battle the morning before. Wonderful tie

[@b3kt1]

why aren't they wearing that shorts anymore?

[@rebecalinares5393]

because its all about woke progresism now, colourful nike rubbish un style shirts, the ugliest piece of shit produced ever No more elegante Sergio Tacchini, Ellese, or Fila outfits. Nike ruined everything

[@hero0149]

Berger「.....」

[@sevraonic8656]

A Western and an Eastern Asian American playing in an all American tennis tournament. Yeah, those were the days 😂

[@zeddeka]

Umm, this was in Canada! Not sure they'd like being described as an "all American" tournament!

[@sevraonic8656]

@@zeddeka got you there. Canada is in North America.

[@mublikbublik7911]

Armenian-american.

[@maguslloretmunoz2354]

Very easy the last three matches...

[@tigerbalm666]

back then...they were racist against asain players.

[@jaymacdonnell4730]

It would help if you actually spelled "Asian" correctly.

[@mublikbublik7911]

Stop using this stupid term. Everybody's racist.

[@ponce1741]

Chang overarchieve a lot.......he just didnt have the height and pysical atributes and compensate with his work ethic and never die attitude . He had a mediocre at best backhand and serve. Just like someone like Schwartzman

[@masters.1000]

Schwartzman would have fare a lot worse in those times.

[@bonzwah1]

Schwartzman possesses much more raw physicality than Chang. Also, Schwartzman's backhand is one of the best on tour, and the core of his game. His forehand is his weaker side. however, yes, he is short like Chang (noticeably shorter than Chang actually), and possesses a weak serve as a result.

[@masters.1000]

@@bonzwah1 The physicality he has now was impossible to achieve in the 90s. You have to compare them in their context.

[@bonzwah1]

@@masters.1000 I agree with your first sentence but not your second. It's impossible to compare them in context because we simply don't know what one would have done in the other's environment. However, the original post asserted that schwartzman had a bad backhand and is held back by a weak body. These things are simply not true so I'm correcting him. Schwartzman is only held back by a lack of height and reach, not a lack of strength and endurance.

[@Gidoza]

The surfaces were a lot faster back then

[@alext4481]

First

[@brysimm404]

To be fair, Agassi had to worry about keeping his wig on :P

[@rebecalinares5393]

was not a wig, only extensions

[@ImmigrationStation4U]

Sampras. His backhand has no place in modern tennis.

[@rebecalinares5393]

Modern tennis has no place in 70-80s-90s tennis. Robotiic un talented grunters with ultramodernintelligent raquets have no place in the past REAL TENNIS.

[@CSV1973]

this is why someone 5-8 can’t win anymore.. too much energy spent winning matches

[@shore348450]

Mostly true but Diego Schwartzman is top ten

[@realmr2001]

Chang has 34 ATP titles + 1 grand slam + 2 grand slam runner ups...he won plenty

[@jacuesduplessis319]

​@@realmr2001 3 gs Runners up