Roland Garros Re-Lived 1989: Michael Chang makes history

When Michael Chang beat Stefan Edberg in the 1989 French Open final, he became the youngest man ever to win a Grand Slam title, but it’s his fourth-round match against Ivan Lendl which is most famous.

Chang was trailing by two sets to love, but several moonballs, numerous bouts of cramp, and even an underarm serve later, he’d won the match and turned it into the stuff of legend. 

In an exclusive interview, Chang discusses his tactics to turn the match around, the way he got booed during the tournament after mentioning his faith, his relationship with Lendl, and how he coped during the tournament despite hearing news of the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

We also analyse Chang’s performance in the final, hear from Edberg about how he let that match slip and how gutted he was to lose it, and look at Chang’s place in tennis history.

The Tennis Podcast is presented by Catherine Whitaker and David Law, featuring Matt Roberts. It is produced weekly year-round, and daily during the Grand Slam tournaments. It is crowdfunded by listeners each December.

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* ROLAND GARROS RE-LIVED *

We are producing daily shows throughout the original Roland Garros dates, looking back on 15 classic matches and stories from the tournament’s history. You can watch extensive highlights of Chang vs. Edberg on YouTube. Tomorrow we will be watching the 1992 final between Steffi Graf and Monica Seles. The full match is available on YouTube. We will also be doing editions for Wimbledon.

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