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At a crossroads

Chang struggles, but begins comeback with victory

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Posted: Wednesday July 14, 1999 12:52 AM

Chang has entered 14 ATP tour events this year and made it past the second round just once. AP

APTOS, Calif. (AP) -- Children played in a sandbox a few feet away. Spectators munched on crab cakes and pasta salad, and wondered aloud whether they were allowed to cheer at tennis matches.

Michael Chang was back on the court Tuesday, but not at the French Open or the other tournaments at which he's built his reputation over the past decade.

Instead, he began his comeback in the hinterlands of tennis. He played his first match since May at a challenger tournament -- the equivalent of a minor league game -- in a tiny sports club overlooking Monterey Bay.

Chang overcame a few unforced errors at the start of the second set to win 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) over Wade McGuire, ranked 472nd in the world. It was his first match since losing in the first round of the French Open in late May.

"I feel right now I'm at a little bit of a crossroads, and I'll do what I have to do," Chang said. "And that means playing at a challenger."

Chang was No. 2 in the world a couple of years ago and has won a singles title on the ATP men's tour every year since 1988, the longest streak of any active player. He has won almost $18 million.

Now he's trying to regain his touch in a tournament at which banners promote sponsors such as the Natural Neurology Center and Aegis Assisted Living. The winner of this week's challenger tournament gets $7,200.

It's similar to Mark McGwire trying to get back his timing in Class AAA, or Tiger Woods working back into shape on the Nike Tour.

Chang is not the first player to take this route. Andre Agassi played in a couple of challenger tournaments in 1997 as he began a comeback that culminated recently with the No. 1 ranking in the world.

Chang won the first seven points of Tuesday's match and needed just 38 minutes to capture the first set against McGuire, an NCAA singles finalist in 1982 and 1983 for Georgia. Chang dropped the first three games of the second set, but rallied to force the tiebreaker and finished off the match with an overhead winner.

"I was a little bit rusty," he said. "This was a great match for me, to get out there and play a lot of tough points. I don't think you can duplicate these matches in practice."

Chang had not played in a challenger event since 1987, two years before he became the youngest man to win a Grand Slam title when he captured the French Open as a 17-year-old.

But this has been a difficult year for Chang. He has entered 14 ATP tour events and made it past the second round just once. After losing to Yevgeny Kafelnikov in the first round of the French Open, he was bothered by back spasms and decided to skip the grass court season.

Now ranked 59th, Chang hopes Tuesday's match will be the first step in a steady path toward the U.S. Open.

"I feel like at this point, it's been a tough year for me, and to win matches is important," he said. "If you don't win matches, you lack confidence going up against the top players. It's that mental toughness and confidence I need."

 

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