THE FALL GUY

Michael Chang, owner of an active mind, continues to comb through the clues, searching for a solution to his mid-career malaise.

If anything, Chang had always been able to think his way out of tight situations. Or, simply by attrition, outlast his opponents.

Armed with his best asset, his head, Chang is still thinking about the worst slump of his 12-year career, wondering why and how he could have tumbled from the brink of No. 1 in 1997 all the way to his current No. 70.

His brother and coach, Carl, is trying to answer that question too. They’ve gone outside the family for advice. Still, the 27-year-old Chang is bewildered, recognizing that he has advanced past the second round only twice in 13 events this year. And that his 11-year streak of winning at least one singles title is in jeopardy.

“I’m at a crossroads in my career,” Chang said on Sunday. “I know I’m not going to be on the tour for another 10 years or so. It’s kind of a do-or-die situation for me right now.”

To that end, Chang dropped down to the minor leagues of tennis, the challenger circuit, earlier this month.

There is precedent for the move. Andre Agassi, hoping to reinvent and revive himself, played two challenger events in late 1997 at Las Vegas and Burbank, winning the latter.

“There’s no question he has the heart and mind to get back to where he was,” said Pete Sampras, who has played against Chang since their pre-teen days. “Because that’s what got him to No. 2 in the world. And then you see what Andre did after playing the challenger.”

Chang defeated Wade McGuire (No. 418), Taylor Dent (270) and Cristiano Caratti (196) before losing to Harel Levy of Israel (241) in the semifinals at the $50,000 Safeway Challenge at Aptos, Calif., in a club overlooking Monterey Bay.

His goal, among others, was to get some match play before the summer hard-court circuit.

The first review of whether the move was a wise one was out Monday at the Mercedes-Benz Cup at UCLA’s Los Angeles Tennis Center. Chang played 103rd-ranked Wayne Black of Zimbabwe in the late-night match. Chang, who won this event in 1996, spent most of his youth growing up in Orange County.

For him, the Aptos event came at an ideal point. He missed Wimbledon for the first time in his career because of back spasms, leaving a large gap in the schedule. His last ATP event was a first-round loss to Yevgeny Kafelnikov at the French Open in May, which, coincidentally, was the 10th anniversary of his memorable French Open victory.

“It wasn’t on my schedule to play that event,” said the oft-injured Chang. “But it wasn’t on my schedule to miss the whole grass-court season, either. This year has been a tough year for me. Whenever you lay off that long, you are going to be rusty, match-wise. . . . I didn’t want to start off the summer season cold. But I hoped to do better than I did.”

Perhaps he had Agassi in mind when he chose the challenger event. Actually, Agassi was at a much lower point than Chang--ranked below 100--when he played the two small events. Now, the challenger survivor, Agassi, is regarded as the architect of the renaissance of tennis in 1999.

“It crossed my mind,” Chang said. “But I think Andre’s situation is a little bit different than mine. Andre and I are a little bit different. I really needed the matches and I know I really needed to win some matches--to gain a little bit of confidence.”

Still, losing to a part-time player who still serves in the Israeli army when he’s not touring was not the outcome Chang envisioned.

The injuries and 1999 losses to the likes of Jens Knippschild, Hendrik Dreekmann and Levy have tested Chang’s equanimity as well as losing the close, hard-fought matches he used to routinely win. As recently as the French Open, he said he felt his best tennis was still ahead of him. He wasn’t saying that the other day.

“What is difficult is that we haven’t been able to pinpoint one particular thing,” Chang said. “Maybe it’s a combination of a little bit of everything. Trying to get everything [in order] so we can concentrate on tennis and not worry about anything else. This is a combination of coming back from injuries and dealing with struggles and stuff like that.”

Chang hinted that the situation was more complex but declined to offer specifics, saying, “It’s a little bit more complicated than normal.”

He doesn’t offer an explanation on his web site, either, but provides a candid look behind the scenes, mixed with his strong religious beliefs. The proximity to No. 1--Chang got as close as No. 2 in September 1996 and No. 3 at the end of 1997--ended up hurting him as he prepared for 1998. Since reaching the semifinals of the 1997 U.S. Open, Chang’s best result in a Grand Slam is the third round of the French Open in 1998.

“I was so close to becoming No. 1 that I thought if I put more hard work into everything, I would be able to achieve it,” he wrote in his web site diary. “Not only did I not achieve it, but I also had one of the worst years of my career.

“It was foolish of me to think I could win a Grand Slam championship and become No. 1 by depending on myself. And that’s what I tried to do by working so hard during last year’s off-season. Did you know I was working out six days a week, starting each day at 6 a.m. and not finishing most days until 8 p.m.?”

More recently, the 10th anniversary of his French Open victory prompted more questions about his future, rather than his present. Chang jokingly asked reporters not to write his tennis obituary. Even so, he understands the reasoning behind the line of questioning during “the biggest test of his career.”

“It goes with the territory,’ he said. “It’s common. If I was sitting there asking myself questions, I’d probably ask something along those lines as well.”

These days, Carl Chang is feeling more optimistic about the future than his younger brother.

“I have my opinions,” he said. “But I think what we’ve accomplished in the last week is pretty amazing. I don’t know how he’s going to do this week. But he’s coming into this week on a high and positive note.”

He also alluded to some recent “tough personal things,” but also would not offer additional information.

“Now everything is behind us,” Carl said. “Our work on the court is very positive and he’s really excited to be out there. Coming off injuries and stuff and the slow comeback, you get discouraged. Especially when you aren’t used to losing.”

Aptos may serve as a turning point, even beyond tennis.

“We went over there to get through some personal things,” Carl said. “Just letting him be independent and try to think things through.”

“I’d like to see him get some confidence and enjoy himself out there. We’ll see. I think the results will come. I am pretty confident of that.”

MERCEDES BENZ CUP

RIOS OUT OF TOURNAMENT: Marcelo Rios, the No. 4- seeded player, withdrew from Mercedes-Benz Cup because of tendinitis in both hips. Page 6

Year by Year

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Year Titles Rank* 1987 0 163 1988 1 30 1989 2 5 1990 1 15 1991 1 15 1992 3 6 1993 5 8 1994 6 6 1995 4 5 1996 3 2 1997 5 3 1998 2 29 1999 0 70

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* Year-end except 1999, which is current.