By Dustin Dow
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Michael Chang practices on Saturday afternoon at the Western and Southern Financial Group Masters in Mason, Ohio. (Leigh Patton photo) | ZOOM |

Michael Chang. A little bit of America, Asia, France and Christianity all rolled into one name.

But Chang's appeal stretches far beyond his name. As the 31-year-old tennis player prepares for his final tournament in Cincinnati, Chang is as beloved today as he was at 17, when he became the youngest player in history to win the French Open.

The Chang we see now carrying out his farewell tour that will end at the U.S. Open is not much different from the scrappy fighter who took down the giant, Ivan Lendl, 14 years ago in perhaps the most memorable French Open match of all time. Chang is still stoic in victory or defeat, still living life on his own terms, and still driven by his faith in God. And he still serves it up at 5-feet-9, looking every bit the underdog his stature has always relegated him to be.

Except now, Chang actually is the underdog, given little chance to win. And in fact, he's won just two matches all year compared to seven losses. For that, this last go-round is more of a "thank you" to his fans than a goodbye to tennis.

Having received a wild-card entry, Chang will play his first match of the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters today on Center Court against qualifier Hicham Arazi at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason. It could also be Chang's last match in Cincinnati. Either way, Chang isn't likely to forget this tournament he claims as one of his favorites, and where he will be honored in a ceremony today.

"I love playing Cincinnati," Chang said. "The people are great ... Something happens when I go to Cincinnati, I play some great tennis."

BY THE NUMBERS

Michael Chang's career at Cincinnati: • 15: Appearances in the singles main draw • 12: Trips to the Round of 16 • 10: Quarterfinal appearances • 6: Semifinal appearances • 41: Match wins • 2: Titles • .759: Winning percentage

His record in Cincinnati is 41-13 and includes tournament titles in 1993 and 1994, and runner-up finishes in 1995 and 1996. Only Stefan Edberg has more wins in Cincinnati (45).

Chang's current ranking of 159 is a long fall from when he reached No. 2 in the world in 1996 and 1997. At that time, he formed one-fourth of America's greatest tennis generation, along with Andre Agassi, Pete Sampras and Jim Courier. Chang's contribution to the group includes 34 singles titles and over $19 million in career prize money.

It is not, however, as if a star has fallen from grace. Chang hasn't lost his following (or his endorsement deal with Reebok). He's simply gotten old, a relative term when applied to tennis players. And because he has spaced out the tournaments he's playing this year, Chang hasn't found a rhythm.

"He started putting everything together (two weeks ago) in Los Angeles," said Chang's brother Carl, also his coach since 1991. "So now he's competing again."

Naturally, Chang would like to close out his career with another win or two, but even that won't change how he'll be remembered.

"He had a tremendous career," said John McEnroe, a four-time U.S. Open and three-time Wimbledon champion who does tennis analyst work for television. "He was a model for people to show he wasn't a big guy, he wasn't the best at anything, but he could get it done. It was what was inside of him, his heart, that made him have a truly memorable career - quite possibly a Hall of Fame career."

Chang isn't shy about revealing what was and still is inside of him. His Christian faith, he says, has shaped his life since his teenage years prior to his French Open title in 1989, his only Grand Slam championship.

His faith has also, at times, created controversy. When Chang, playing with leg cramps and serving underhanded, stunned Lendl in five sets in the quarterfinals of the '89 French Open, he publicly credited God with guiding him through the match. That brought upon him a flurry of boos and whistles from the French crowd for the rest of the tournament.

"It was difficult when I was playing the French Open," he said. "I was very vocal about (my faith). And it was only my sophomore year out there on tour. And in all honesty, I got some pretty tough press after my match with Lendl."

Eventually, however, the French public warmed to Chang, and he was presented with a commemorative poster of his '89 win this year on Centre Court at Roland Garros.

"The funny thing is over a period of time, they got a chance to know me, and I honestly got a chance to know them and appreciate the way that they do things over there," Chang said.

"Every time I've gone there the past seven, eight years, they treat me as if I'm French."

He's not, of course. He's Asian-American, the son of Taiwanese-born Joe and Betty Chang, who moved sons Carl and Michael from Minnesota to California in grade school for warmer weather and premier junior tennis training. Chang's Asian roots sparked his popularity in China and Taiwan, where he is as big of a sports hero as Michael Jordan is in the United States.

"He has to have six body guards when he plays tournaments over there," said Joe Chang.

Chang's fame has helped spawn tennis tournaments in Asia, and only now are Asian tennis players beginning to make an impact on the ATP tour.

Now, Chang is ready to slow his life down, and spend more time at his home outside of Seattle.

"I feel like God has blessed me with so many opportunities to do something I've enjoyed," he said.

His family would like to see a marriage in Chang's future, but there are no clear prospects at the moment. He's been waiting his whole life to find the right person, and certainly isn't going to rush into anything.

"I told him after he retires maybe that should be his No. 1 priority," Joe Chang said. "It's hard to find the right girl when you're on tour. A woman demands and deserves time, energy and effort. And without going to college, Michael missed that period of being able to really get to know someone."

And so at 31, he'll get that chance now in "retirement" when he unpacks his suitcases after 16 years of airports, hotels and training schedules.

"I'll definitely be able to walk away from the tour feeling very thankful about what I've been given," Chang said. "And hopefully, I'll be able to touch a lot of lives after tennis."

E-mail ddow@enquirer.com

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