CHANG SHOWS HE HAS THE SAME OLD DESIRE VETERAN HANGS TOUGH BEFORE THREE-SET LOSS.

Byline: Matthew Kredell Staff Writer

Michael Chang pumped his fist, flexed his arms and yelled at balls while they were in the air.

He no longer has the success he enjoyed early in his career. But Chang, 30, showed he still has the desire in a close first-round loss to Jan-Michael Gambill at the Mercedes-Benz Cup at UCLA's Los Angeles Tennis Center on Monday.

Chang, whose record dropped to 2-13 on the season, including 11 first-round exits, appeared in classic form, hustling around the court and scrapping back from a break down in the third set. However, Gambill survived two match points and prevailed in the final tiebreaker 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (9-7).

``You guys must think I'm just one really stubborn bleep bleep bleep,'' Chang said. ``I haven't won a whole lot of matches this year, but, shoot, I have a lot of hope. I still have a lot of desire to do well. It's been awhile, but I want to be able to walk away from the tour saying I have no regrets.''

No matter his struggles, Chang always seems to do well in Los Angeles, where he played much of his junior tennis. He won the Mercedes-Benz Cup title in 2000, his last tournament victory.

Chang looked done in the third set, trailing a break at 3-0. He fought back to tie and had match point with Gambill serving at 5-4. Gambill, an American ranked No. 52 in the world, came back to win the game when Chang tried to jump on a second serve but hit a backhand into the net.

The tiebreaker went back and forth. Down 5-6 at match point, Chang mis-hit his service return but got away with it as he came up to the net and shouted ``Get out!'' as Gambill's lob sailed past the baseline.

Gambill put the match away with a crosscourt volley deep into the corner. Chang used one last effort to reach for it but couldn't pull the ball onto the court.

``Michael wants to win,'' Gambill said. ``He's still a very good player, but the fear factor is gone. No one fears playing Michael Chang anymore.''

Chang admitted losing confidence because of his struggles over the past couple of years. But he's not about to quit.

``I'm not going to give anything to these younger guys,'' Chang said. ``You better know when I come out and step on that court, I don't care what my ranking is. I don't care where I am as long as I'm in the draw. You can put me on court 35. You may beat me, but I'm going to give it my best.''

Andy Roddick, a 19-year-old teen sensation and second-highest ranked American in the world behind Andre Agassi at No. 12, also needed to rebound after losing the first set. But he had no trouble making adjustments and taking more chances to win 6-7, 6-1, 6-2 over Hyung-Taik Lee of Korea.

Another young American, Taylor Dent from Newport Beach, had a much easier time in a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Neville Godwin of South Africa.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Michael Chang returns a shot from Jan-Michael Gambill in their first-round match at the Mercedes-Benz Cup at UCLA's Los Angeles Tennis Center Monday.

E.J. Flynn/Associated Press

(2) Defending Mercedes-Benz Cup champion Andre Agassi, right, and comedian/actor Dennis Miller team up during a celebrity tennis match Monday night at UCLA.

Phil McCarten/Staff Photographer