Different Strokes : Michael Chang Doesn’t Hang Out With the Guys, but Don’t Let Anyone (Hear That, Andre?) Say He’s Not a Team Player

If there exists a clique in men’s professional tennis, and there does, Michael Chang is not a member. By circumstance, but also by choice.

Membership requirements involve making choices and compromises that Chang would never agree to. He doesn’t snap towels in the locker room or hang out debating which club to go to that night. Friendly but aloof, Chang is not one of the boys, and that’s fine with him.

“It takes time to get to know someone,” Chang said recently, relaxing before practice for his first Davis Cup match in six years.

“Off the court, I talk to the guys and mingle with them, but to be totally honest with you, I’m not out there going out with them. I’m not that type of person. I prefer to spend things a little quieter, I like to go out with my family and friends. Generally speaking, I’m a pretty private person.”

Some say that Chang, wrapped in the cocoon of his family, is an isolationist. They say that Chang’s values and his lifestyle cause a backlash for him on the men’s tour, where his deeply held Christian beliefs come off as sanctimonious.

Others say that Chang, 23, is to be admired for his convictions as well as his tennis skill, which has brought him to No. 5 in the world and, most recently, to the final of last month’s Australian Open.

Tom Ross, Chang’s longtime agent, speaks with some reverence about his client’s integrity.

“Michael is very much at peace with himself,” Ross said. “With who he is and what he represents and what’s important in his life. He’s not about to compromise that for any fraternal reasons.”

The fraternity that Chang eschews includes three Americans who grew up together in the sport--Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier. The players could not be more different, perhaps Chang most of all. His reserve and the fact that he doesn’t speak the language of sport--with brashness and an in-your-face confidence--set him apart from his peers. And often at odds.

“There are always going to be cliques; everyone is trying to be king of the mountain,” Chang said. “Off the court, I don’t avoid them. When the guys are in the locker room we are able to talk about things. But our lifestyles are different. The way we approach things is different. You reach a stage in your life where you want to be your own person. Growing up with all these guys emphasizes that even more. We’re all pretty different.”

Players respect loud proclamations and aggression, and Chang does not engage in that. Seen as a goody-goody, Chang is a frequent target of the tour’s cheap-shot sniping. He doesn’t retaliate, thus inviting more. Players refer to Chang’s stature (he’s 5 feet 9) and used to criticize him for a weak serve. That’s no longer true. Even in winning, Chang is demeaned by some of his less-talented peers.

Dealing with the topic, Chang remains polite and does not deflect questions. Chang has found a way to make being the butt of jokes work for him. He is a highly competitive athlete who believes he has much to prove to the world.

“That doesn’t really bother me, and I’ll tell you why,” Chang said. “That kind of thing fuels me, you know? People may have reasons for saying things, but that opens up a bit of a challenge. If you are able to go out and accomplish certain things, then people can’t say things anymore. It kind of pumps you up a little bit.”

Chang has not lacked for that sort of fuel, and Davis Cup has provided much of it. Agassi, who was at the Davis Cup final in Moscow last December as a spectator because of an injury, was blistering in his criticism of Chang’s commitment to Davis Cup.

“He hasn’t played Davis Cup since 1990, and I think that shows you what he really thinks of it,” Agassi said. “It also reflects the fact that it is not a priority for him. It’s been a long, hard road, and everyone has been committed to it except for Michael.

“He said no to the most pivotal part of the year, which was against Italy in Palermo on clay. Maybe he had to go make a million or two over in Asia.”

It’s not so shocking that Agassi would blurt out something outrageous--that has become a specialty of his--it’s more the implied disrespect. Imagine anyone criticizing Sampras in such a way.

Somehow, Agassi maneuvered himself onto the Davis Cup high road while relegating Chang onto a dusty side street. While Chang is here, playing a low-profile, first-round match, Agassi will not play Davis Cup at all this year, opting instead to play in this summer’s Olympic Games.

While it is true that Chang has not participated in the Davis Cup since 1990, it is also true that he has often not been asked to play, being seen as a B Team player rather than a go-to guy during years in which first Courier, then Agassi and Sampras were the top Americans.

But Agassi didn’t present the full story. Chang, the United States’ preeminent clay-court player, originally said no to playing last year’s match against Italy on clay. But so did Agassi and Sampras. Chang later reconsidered that decision, but was preempted by a behind-the-scenes deal struck by Agassi and Sampras.

Last year at the Newsweek tournament at Indian Wells, Chang was told only half an hour before the announcement was to be made that Sampras and Agassi would play in Italy. Chang had already arranged to meet with U.S. captain Tom Gullikson during the tournament to discuss his participation in the match and knew nothing of the Sampras-Agassi pact.

No one did. The two players had discussed Davis Cup the weekend before the Indian Wells tournament while they were in San Francisco shooting a commercial. The I-will-if-you-will agreement came as a surprise to Gullikson and USTA officials, who may have believed there was little left to consider if the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the world offer their services.

Things might have gone smoother and feelings might have been spared if someone had bothered to inform Chang or Davis Cup devotees Courier and Todd Martin.

During the self-congratulatory news conference, Agassi and, to a lesser degree, Sampras, spoke of their sacrifices on behalf of Davis Cup. (They neglected to note that arrangements had been made for them to fly from Miami to New York by private jet and take the Concorde to Europe.)

Agassi said he’d like to see Chang “step up” to take his share of Davis Cup responsibilities. The whole episode embarrassed Chang and made him look out of the loop.

“It’s tough, if Andre and Pete want to play, the No. 1 and No. 2 players in the world, it’s tough to deny them that,” Chang said. “But one thing that everyone learned last year, including Andre himself, is that you just can’t say, ‘We’re committed to Davis Cup,’ and that’s it.

“The U.S. team was very fortunate that Todd Martin was there, playing doubles and filling in for [Agassi in] singles. That’s where the team concept comes in. The guys feel they are part of a team and not just, ‘We’ll call you when we need you.’ It’s easier to play Davis Cup when you’re appreciated.”

A few months earlier, while Agassi was ducking out of the first-round match against France, Chang committed to play--until the USTA moved the match from the West Coast to Florida.

So the idea that Chang doesn’t want to play Davis Cup is not entirely true. Gullikson said he preferred not to discuss details of the situation. “I’d prefer to focus on what we are going to be doing this year,” he said. Gullikson did say that Chang’s concerns about scheduling and other issues have been discussed, if not resolved.

“It stings a bit, yes,” Chang said of the perception that he doesn’t make time for Davis Cup. “I think with Andre, he doesn’t really know my whole situation. The first tie [last year], I was actually scheduled to play, I was up and ready. What upset me was that, here you have this home-court advantage, you can play where you want and on what surface you want. All the players really wanted the first tie to be on the West Coast, coming from Australia. Andre, Jim and I were all playing [at] San Jose, Gully wanted it on the West Coast. . . .

“Then they said they couldn’t find a venue, which was really strange because there are so many great events on the West Coast. They ended up having it in Florida, and things fell through. That was a bit frustrating.”

Chang doesn’t add that he bristled at being taken for granted by USTA officials, but there remain items on his agenda. He’d like to see Davis Cup used as a vehicle to increase interest in the game, especially to introduce tennis to children.

Like other players, Chang believes the USTA sets ticket prices too high. As is USTA policy, this weekend’s tickets are sold only in a three-day package and range from $55 to $175, steep prices for a sport that claims it’s trying to shed its country club image.

“Tickets are difficult,” Chang said. “Prices are too high for a family of four who want to take their children to something that doesn’t come along that often.”

Asked about his relationship with the USTA, Chang dryly notes he has never met Les Snyder, the USTA president.

But Chang won’t allow negativity to triumph, not before he has the chance to use it for motivation.

“I’m looking at the future, not the past,” Chang said, smiling. “I think things will get better. We’ll talk. Davis Cup is special. As far as the other guys, everyone has an opinion. I have to live my life as I need to. I try to be positive. I try.”