Sampras, Chang's final bows
sets up Roddick's big debut
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Michael Chang waves to the appreciative crowd who gave him a standing
ovation after he played his final official match as a professional.
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NEW YORK (AFP) - Pete Sampras and Michael Chang had barely taken their final bows and made gala curtain calls when Andy Roddick debuted another spectacular Broadway tennis show that figures to be a long-running smash hit.
Roddick captured his first Grand Slam title here Sunday, defeating world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero 6-3, 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 in the US Open final, using the same power-serving style Sampras used for 14 Slam titles before his exit.
Sampras retired when the fortnight began and Michael Chang followed the next day, all-but closing a generation of American tennis just in time for Roddick to realize his long-awaited Slam potential eight days past his 21st birthday.
"I don't think you could have written a script any better," Roddick said. "Starting it off with Pete's retirement. Chang is gone. All that. It was just too good."
And the most annoyingly repeated question Roddick faces is now history.
"No more 'What's it like to be the future of American tennis crap?' No more," Roddick said.
Thirteen weeks after dumping French coach Tarik Benhabiles for Andre Agassi's former mentor Brad Gilbert, Roddick used his powerful serve and uncanny precision to craft a breakthrough triumph.
"Tarik was with me four years," Roddick said. "He took me from a kid who was content to maybe get a college scholarship somewhere, he taught me, maybe the first one with a serious face to say, 'You can be a champion.'
"It kind of feels empty not having him here. Hopefully I'll see him soon."
Gilbert's advice was crucial, relaxing Roddick's tension-filled head and having him focus on the problem at hand and not his role as the vanguard of American tennis hopes. Gilbert made Roddick play to his potential at long last.
"It was huge," Roddick said. "We have a great camaraderie. We just click. He knows what to say to me, when to say it. He makes things simple for me, which helps a lot."
Gilbert's message was basic. Face only the foe in front of you. And relax.
"Of course you're going to be in the pressure cooker. Everybody expects big things from him," Gilbert said. "The court is where you take care of business. When you're out there don't be miserable. If he comes to the park every day with a good attitude, his game will shine."
As a result, Roddick found an unusual calm in Arthur Ashe Stadium in his first Slam final, a match that not so long ago could have overwhelmed him.
"The hardest thing is fear of the unknown," Roddick said. "I didn't know how I was going to feel going in. I didn't know what was going to happen. But I'm baffled by how calm I felt out there, how easy. I almost didn't feel anything."
Roddick will be hailed as the next Sampras just one year after being ousted by the original here in his penultimate match. Roddick knows he has no reason to be too cocky.
"I'm not going to say I'm going to be the best thing since sliced bread," Roddick said. "I just want to keep playing, work hard and try to improve. Who knows what the future will hold?"
It could see Roddick hoisting multiple Slam trophies and becoming one of the sport's all-time legends. But just like his opponents, Roddick will take titles one at a time.
"It definitely takes more than one to start thinking that way," Roddick said. "There have been lots of players better than me. I'm happy to just get one. Then I'll think about the future when it comes up."
CHANG HONORED
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Michael Chang performs his signature fist pump one final time.
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Michael Chang knelt down and performed his signature fist pump one final time for the New York fans he came to love.
Chang, whose retirement became official when he lost last week, was honored at the U.S. Open on Thursday night after the tribute was postponed twice because of rain. He received a long standing ovation in Arthur Ashe Stadium, where he waved to the crowd as he walked around the court for the last time.
"He's one of the great champions in the history of American tennis," McEnroe said. "All of us respected your intensity, your passion, your desire."
The 31-year-old Chang played in 17 straight U.S. Opens, losing to 15th-seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 in the first round of his final appearance at Flushing Meadows. Gonzales was fresh from his the runner-up finish to Tim Henman at the Washington Classic prior to the US Open.
Chang said although he lost his final match here and only won two of 12 matches all year, he was happy at the end. His brother and longtime coach, Carl, was by his side, and so was his mother, Betty.
"It's every professional athlete's dream to finish on a high note," he said. "I can honestly say, from the bottom of my heart, I've finished on a high note. And there's no other way I'd want to finish my career."
Chang announced in January that the Open would be the final event of his 16th tour.
His top Open finish was making the 1996 final, when he lost to Boris Becker. Had Chang won that match, he would have reached No. 1 in the rankings. He lost against Becker again at the final of that year's World Championship. He had a top ranking of No. 2.
Chang, who received a wild-card entry into the tournament, burst into the tennis spotlight when he won at Roland Garros in 1989 at age 17. It was his only Grand Slam title. But it was something Sampras never won.
"A very special thank you to Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Jim Courier," Chang said. "Gentlemen, we've been through a lot together. You have brought out the best in me. Of all the things I'll miss on tour it will be playing you in front of a packed house."
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Michael Chang: He will forever be that little young man with a very big heart.
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-- September 2003
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