Michael arrived in Hong Kong during the first week of April for the Salem Open, which was preceded by a series of exhibitions and children's clinics on the colony. As usual, every time he steps onto Asian soil, he's bombarded with press conferences and media committments. On Friday, he taped an interview segment with May Lee for "CNN News: Asia" and appeared at the Reebok Concept Shop on Saturday at 3 PM. The CNN clip aired twice on Saturday, April 12th. Michael also attended a press conference for his latest endorsement, a line of signature Reebok watches. AND, he also headed a charity clinic on the 6th sponsored by Rejoice Shampoo/Procter & Gamble, which was held at Hong Kong University.

A report about the clinic appeared in a Hong Kong daily newspaper called Apple Daily (help from an unexpected source... an AK fan...thanks, Tammy!). The front picture of the clinic article included a collage of Michael and Cantopop stars Georgie Lam, Gigi Lai, Cass Pang, and ***Aaron Kwok*** (ultra hot stud muffin). The article, from what I gathered, focused on the P&G clinic, and how Michael was slaughtering little Georgie Lam Chi Keung until they gave Ah Lam a HUGE Prince racquet and Michael a tiny wooden spoon. So Ah Lam won the tiebreak.

Michael successfully completed his bid for his third Salem Open title with a win over Australian Patrick Rafter in the final. This match was stopped on Sunday due to rain when Michael held two match points. Thankfully, the weather the next day was sunny, or else the final would have been cancelled and there would have been no 1997 champion. Michael spent that Monday morning watching young U.S. golfer Tiger Woods win the PGA Masters Championship (on TV) before stepping onto court to play the final two points.

Carl competed in doubles with Japan's Shuzo Matsuoka (who is really really hot, BTW :o) ), where they lost in three close sets to Henrik Holm and Doug Flach in the 1st round. Carl was also granted a wild card in the singles draw, where he lost to qualifier Brian MacPhie in the first round :o( . Michael had five family members with him in Hong Kong, including his parents and cousin Jerry Yu, who manned the fan club booth.

Later in the month, Michael won his 30th career singles title at the U.S. Pro Clay Court Championships (formerly held at Pinehurst NC, now held in Orlando FL). This is also his 25th tournament as a top seed, and his match record as the #1 seed in tournaments is a staggering 92-10. Orlando was also Michael's four title of the year, setting himself ahead of the pack in the ATP Tour for 1997 in terms of titles won. Previously, Michael had not competed in Orlando since winning the Sport Goofy junior tournament as a 12-year-old (the girls' junior winner that same year, BTW, was Monica Seles). Michael last competed in Pinehurst in 1988, when he lost to Horacio de la Pena in the 1st round.

Another milestone was set after Michael defeated Jan-Michael Gambill in the first round. Michael reached his 500th career match win and moved back up to #2 in the world. Michael didn't even realize that he was about to reach his 500th win until he read it in the newspaper, and upon receiving a plaque and cake after his first round match, he said to the crowd, "Uh, I don't know what to say...Anyone want some cake?" ;)

The very next week, Michael was handed his fourth loss of the year by the talented Brazilian Fernando Meligeni in the first round of the AT&T Challenge in Atlanta GA. Michael was a two-time winner of the event and was seeking his second clay court title of the year.