As the old saying goes, on any given day, anybody can defeat anybody else.
There are few moments in sports history that prove that idea more than the one that happened on this day in 1989.
That’s when a not very well known American player pulled off an upset for the ages against one of the top names in the sport.
That not very well known player was Michael Chang, a 17 year old from New Jersey who was playing in the French Open.
Chang had already shown he had lots of talent and potential, and he was the number 15 seed in the men’s draw, but he was definitely not a favorite to win, or even to go that deep.
The year before, he’d made it to the third round, where he lost pretty handily to John McEnroe.
In 1989, Chang did make it past his third round opponent (another then-unknown American player named Pete Sampras), but on paper that looked like about as far as Chang was going to go.
His next opponent was the world’s number one player, and three-time French Open champion, Ivan Lendl.
And as pretty much everyone expected, the favorite took the first two sets.
But Chang hung on to win the third, and started to build some momentum… only to find that the grueling contest was causing his body to cramp up.
Chang admits that at one point he started walking toward the umpire’s chair so that he could retire, but he said he heard a voice that said, essentially, if you’re going to quit here and now, why wouldn’t you quit anytime the going got tough?
He kept playing, and turned his weaknesses into strengths.
When his legs didn’t want to run, he hit what he called “moon balls,” huge lobs that slowed the match down.
At one point Chang served a point underhand, which helped throw Lendl off his game.
And it worked: the surprise shots, strong defense, key winners and his seemingly bottomless determination gave Chang the edge.
He won the fourth set and then the decisive fifth set, collapsing on the court after match point as the crowd gave him a standing ovation.
And there were more surprises to come: after pulling off that massive upset, Chang reached the tournament finals, where he defeated another top player, Stefan Edberg, to become the youngest men’s Grand Slam champion ever.
Chang said later that the signature of his tennis career was something he proved on the clay courts in Paris that day: win or lose, he never gave up on a point.
Juggling a tough opponent and muscle cramps is impressive, which reminds me that this Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska, it’s the Flatland Juggling Festival.
Great jugglers and aspiring great jugglers will be on hand to try some of the latest and greatest tricks, including glow juggling, and the whole event culminated in a big public show Saturday night.
There will also be a juggling pizza party, which means people will have to juggle good food, friends and actual juggling.
How Michael Chang defeated Ivan Lendl at the French Open in 1989 (The Guardian)
Want more stories about great upsets? Back our little show on Patreon today
