Marathon man clings on in twilight zone

Michael Chang will be back at Roland Garros this week, revisiting the scene of his involvement with what remains the most extraordinary match ever played in that grand old arena. It was 1989, the fourth round of the French Open. Chang, hobbled by cramp, came from two sets down to defeat the world number one and three-time champion, Ivan Lendl, unsettling and finally destroying the Stone-Faced One by incredible bravery and such gamesmanship as serving underarm. Buttressed, he claimed, by the Lord's benevolence, Chang went on to win the title, the youngest-ever Grand Slam champion at 17 years, three months.

In those days most sentences written or spoken about Chang seemed to contain the phrase "the youngest". This month marks his 15th straight visit to the French, which is also a record; the longest of any player still active. "The tide is turning," Chang acknowledged with a laugh. "There was a time when I always used to be the youngest this and that. Now, more and more, it's the longest. I don't know if that is a good thing or not."

Without doubt it is not a good thing as Chang, deep down, surely knows. The lad who turned professional at the age of 15 is now 30 and struggling to put two wins together. What happened to Chang in the last two years is not so much decline and fall; more crash and burn. The sturdy toiler who once dwelled as of right in the top 10 ended 2001 ninety-fourth in the rankings. He lost seven times in the first round this season before winning his lone match in the Houston tournament, and then going out in the second round.

Desperate for the confidence boost of victories of any sort, he has played five Challenger events, the ultimate humiliation for someone of Chang's reputation. He won one of these minor tournaments but, here too, twice went out in the opening round.

But Chang is an athlete of admirable resolve and determination. For him, each new day may bring a turning of the corner, an escape from despair's cul-de- sac. Friday was such a day, with our conversation getting under way, by his request, at 7.15am Pacific Coast time from his home in the Seattle suburb of Mercer Island because he was due to practise at eight.

"I always feel every day offers a new chance to improve or to try something I haven't tried before. Since tennis is confidence-based, sometimes just winning a match or two can boost your confidence, and I don't feel I'm that far off. I am healthy, which is very important, and I still have the desire to work hard to improve my game."

Chang insists he remains capable of adding to his career total of 34 titles, even of another Grand Slam to go with Roland Garros '89. "I've been on the tour so many years I don't need to prove anything. It's not just a question of going out there, but of winning. If the day comes when I am not excited about playing a match or working hard, then I will know something's not right.

"There have been some difficult times recently, for sure. With any kind of losing there is always discouragement and frustration, they are natural emotions. But at the same time I am pretty stubborn, and that's a good thing. When I do get knocked down I pick myself back up and try again. That's what I've been doing these last four years. I have had to do it many, many times. Part of success is learning to take failure. You can't be expected to be successful all the time."

Alas, Chang's dilemma these days is to encounter success at all after a decade in which his non-stop style drew from Andre Agassi the comment "Michael runs for a living". The turning point was 1998, with knee and wrist injuries which pushed him out of the top 20 for the first time in 10 years.

Since then he has won one tournament, Washington in 2000. Following a sixth straight loss at Miami in March, Chang admitted: "If my faith and hope weren't as strong as they are I would say 'Let's just call it a career.' But it's my belief in my heart that there are better days for me tennis-wise. Right now I'm clinging to that faith and to that hope."

Time, as he is aware, grows short. "I definitely know I am in the twilight of my career. I can see myself hopefully playing for a couple more years. What that entails and what God has in store for those years I don't know, but I would love to be able to walk away knowing I gave something back to the game and touched a lot of lives along the way. That has always been important to me."

There are an awful lot of miles on the Chang wheels, but he denies any lessening of speed and mobility. "The only time I felt I was a step slow was after my knee injury. It is 100 per cent now and I feel I have got that step back. What does hurt is that I have lost some confidence on the way, not being able to win close matches. I don't regard 30 as being a problem. The 30 barrier is a bit of a myth, because I still really enjoy competing and there have been some great examples of players doing well past 30."

No better example, of course than Agassi, who famously slipped to 141, much lower than Chang has ever dropped, and still came all the way back to number one. "Andre has been a great inspiration for a lot of people," he said. "To see him bounce back and mature as a person is really tremendous. It would be great to make a comeback like that. Every player dreams of ending their career on a high note. Those Americans who have been around a long while like Andre, Pete Sampras, Todd Martin and me would love to be able to finish our careers that way."

This week, career endings will be forgotten as Chang heads for a reunion with Roland Garros. "The place is always going to be very special for me, obviously because of 1989," he said. "I don't know if it's the people or the clay or the bread or what, but Paris seems to click with me. Going there is something I look forward to every year."

Chang will also compete – for the 14th time – at Wimbledon and, for the first year since 1997, at the Stella Artois event at Queen's Club in London. "Obviously, grass is the surface I am going to struggle most with, but if Lleyton Hewitt, who is also a baseliner, can win Queen's twice there's still a possibility I can do the same. You always try to find inspiration to spur you on."

But not, in Chang's case, take refuge in sympathy or pity. "When you are winning it is easy for people to support you. But when you are losing you wonder if that support will still be there, and in my case it is. I have had so many people come up and tell me they are rooting for me. It is a great encouragement.

"But seeking sympathy is not going to do me any good, it is going to keep me down. To get out of this I need to pick myself up and give it a last try. I don't want to stay down there for ever."