By Adrianna Outlaw
© Michael Chang/MChang.com
(November 1, 2010) Michael Chang has pulled out of this week's Grand Cayman Champions Series event to await an important arrival — his first child. Chang's wife, former Stanford stadout Amber Liu, is expecting the couple's first child.
"I was very much looking forward to competing in the event at the Cayman Islands however at this time I need to be with my wife as we eagerly await the birth of our first child," Chang said in a statement.
The baby is scheduled to arrive a little more than two years after the couple wed. Chang married Liu on October 18th, 2008 at Lake Hills Community Church in Laguna Hills, California. Michael's brother and former coach, Carl Chang, married his wife, Diana, in the same chapel in 1995.
Former French Open champion Chang will be replaced in the Grand Cayman field by 1986 French Open finalist Mikael Pernfors. Rounding out the field at the clay-court Champions Series event are Hall of Famers Stefan Edberg and Jim Courier, former US and Australian Open champion Marat Safin and former top 10 U.S. standouts Aaron Krickstein and Jimmy Arias.
Chang recently played his first event on the Champions Series since 2006, beating John McEnroe for third place at The Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships in Surprise, Arizona.
This year’s Grand Cayman tournament will feature for the first time a multi-day pro-am experience that will be combined with the world class tennis competition to create an exclusive tennis destination happening. All six competing pros will participate in the pro-am that will see the legends playing matches and enjoying meals and social time with participating amateurs over multiple days.
Tennis fans interested in participating in the pro-am with the legends can find ticket, travel and tournament information by visiting www.ChampionsSeriesTennis.com.
Edberg, Courier and Safin have combined to win 12 major singles titles and each achieved the world’s No. 1 ranking. The event will be played on red clay courts in a single-knockout format event with each player vying for a first-prize paycheck of $45,000 and ranking points that determine the year-end No. 1 ranked player on the Champions Series circuit.
In the opening quarterfinal match at 7 p.m. on November 5, Pernfors will play Krickstein, followed by Courier taking on Arias. On Saturday, November 6, starting at 2 p.m., the winner of the Pernfors-Krickstein match will play Safin while the winner of the Courier-Arias match will play Edberg. The schedule of play on Sunday, November 7 will feature the third-place match between the two losing semifinalists starting at 1 p.m. followed by the championship match.
Earlier this year on the Champions Series circuit, former U.S. and Wimbledon finalist Mark Philippoussis defeated McEnroe in May to win the Staples Champions Cup in Boston and take over the No. 1 Champions Series ranking. Philippoussis maintained his ranking by winning the title at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America Tennis Championships in Surprise last month, defeating Courier in the final. Former French Open semifinalist Fernando Meligeni of Brazil was the surprise winner of the opening event on the 2010 Champions Series, winning the title in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil by defeating Philippoussis in the final in March.