Michael's Bio

Mandarin Name: Zhang Te Pei

Cantonese Name: Cheung Tak Pui. To find out the meanings of the characters for the characters of his Chinese name, click on the following links Zhang - Te - Pei

Japanese Name: pronounced my-kelle chan

Birthdate: February 22, 1972

Birthplace: Hoboken NJ USA

Current Height: 5'9"

Height when he was 10 years old: 5'7"

Current Weight: 150 lbs.

Shoe Size: I think it's a men's US size 9 1/2, but on-court, he wears shoes that are a half size larger (i.e. US size 10) because he wears two pairs of socks and ankle braces (Michael wears Kallassy Ankle Supports) to protect his feet

Driver's License: Received in 1991, purchased a BMW the same year. Drove a Ford Explorer, but now currently drives a Nissan Pathfinder according to Tennis Match magazine, both sports utility vehicles (his favorite type of car)

Home Church: Chinese Christian Church, Thousand Oaks, Calif., USA

Elementary School: Flora Vista School, Calif.

High School (freshman year): San Dieguito High School, Calif.
He passed the GED (General Equivalency Diploma exam) in the 10th grade so he could drop out of high school to compete on the pro tour. Michael passed the exam on a Saturday morning the day after his wisdom teeth got pulled.

Highest ATP singles ranking: #2

Highest ATP doubles ranking: #199

Greatest match (in his opinion): Beating #1 Ivan Lendl in the round of 16 at the 1989 French Open, 4-6 4-6 6-3 6-3 6-3 (the awesome encounter when MC got cramps in the 5th set, served underhand, crowded the service line, etc.)

Tennis players whom he admired while growing up (in no order): John McEnroe, Bjorn Borg, Jimmy Connors ("for his never-say-die style")

Younger players whom he considers to have the most potential: Thomas Enqvist, Mark Philippoussis, and Yevgeny Kafelnikov

Past dating history: Not entirely certain. There were definitely rumors, and supposedly the longest that he had dated a girl was for six months. He also once dated figure skater Kristi Yamaguchi, according to Tennis Match. (Kristi also admitted to RACQUET Magazine that her dream doubles match would be Michael and herself against Agassi and Becker, and that Michael would top her list in the dream date category, in terms of male tennis players. Wonder what Bret Hedican, Kristi's husband, would say :P)

Current status: On Oct. 18, 2008, Michael tied the knot with Amber Liu, who is 12 years his junior. Previously Michael served as her tennis coach. Amber was a two-time NCAA singles champion and graduate of Stanford University, where she majored in economics.

Competitive team sports played: Basketball, soccer, but NOT baseball (because he saw a beaning accident on TV replayed over and over in slo-mo and it made him sick :P)

Instruments played: Piano

Languages: English, some Mandarin, some French

Agents: Tom Ross and Kelly Wolf (Advantage International)

Trainer: Ken Matsuda

Best advice he ever received: "Always try your best." (from his parents)