FEELS RIGHT AT HOME CHANG HOPES RETURN TO L.A. SPARKS CAREER.

Byline: Steve Dilbeck Staff Writer

Here it is different. Here there is success - recent, too. There is a feeling of home, of things accomplished, and with more on the horizon.

Out there, it is not always so kind. Certainly not recently.

But Michael Chang returns to the Mercedes-Benz Cup at UCLA this week a winner, as the defending champion.

That he has not won this year, or won since he was last here, can seem more distant. That his career otherwise largely has been on a downward spiral the past four years, something slightly foreign.

Chang left here a champion last summer, defeating Jan-Michael Gambill to capture his second L.A. Open title. Briefly, it was like old times. Like when he was growing up in Placentia and stunning the world by winning the French Open at age 17.

``Each time I come back to play in Southern California, I almost feel like it is a bit of a homecoming,'' Chang said. ``L.A. has been a good place for me. I've won it a couple of times, in the finals a couple times. It's been a good stop for me.''

Chang talks like a man searching for positives, a man trying to rebuild his confidence at age 29. It's been difficult to find on the court. This year his best finish has been the round of 16 in Atlanta. His ranking has plummeted to 88th.

``This year has been a little bit of a struggle,'' Chang said. ``But I feel positive about where my game is right now. I'm looking forward to this summer swing leading up to the U.S. Open.''

Chang has never won the U.S. Open, indeed, has never won a Grand Slam event since capturing the French as a teen-ager. Win something that big, that early, and it comes equipped with the burden of big expectations.

``I really don't feel that way,'' Chang said. ``I would have hoped there would have been at least another Grand Slam between then and now. I've come awfully close on more than a few occasions. I've had three Grand Slam finals since then. There are certain expectations, but when you go out and give it your best, that's all you can ask of yourself.''

No one has ever questioned that Chang gave his all. At 5-foot-9 and 160 pounds, he always has been one of the smaller players on a tour typically dominated by big men. His was a game of hustle, of long exchanges, of scrambling and still standing when others had worn down.

Although he won no other Grand Slam titles, Chang continued to play strong, consistent tennis after Paris. During a 10-year stretch from 1989-1998, he won 541 matches and lost 198. This year he is 7-13.

Some have pointed to Chang's 1997 U.S. Open as a turning point, one event he's called a ``very critical match in my career.''

Then the No. 2-ranked player in the world, he became the tournament favorite when Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi were eliminated in earlier rounds. But Chang lost to eventual champion Patrick Rafter in straight sets and his career started downward.

Though he beat Rafter in a Davis Cup semifinal two weeks later, his loss in New York would haunt him.

``Sometimes what people forget is, I played back-to-back five setters before I played Rafter,'' he said. ``My heart was there, I just think physically I was a little tired. Patrick was playing some great tennis. I don't think there's anything I could have done any different. I felt like I went out and tried my best and came out a little short.''

It's been that way, more times than not, since. There were knee and wrist injuries the next season, but ``burnout'' was whispered. Some felt he went away from his game, bulking up on weights and leaving his grinding style in a false attempt to develop a winning shot.

Chang thinks there is something to that theory but firmly believes the Chang of 29 is a far superior player to the Chang of 17 who burst upon the international scene.

``At 17, I was very consistent,'' he said. ``I had great passing shots and great lobs. I was a very good counter-puncher. I didn't have much of a serve, couldn't really volley that well. Really didn't have any overpowering weapons. I know I'm a much better player now than I was back then. I honestly feel like if I were to ever play myself now vs. when I was 17, I would win as a 29-year-old.''

So why not the same level of success?

``A tough question to answer,'' he said. ``Part of it has been a confidence factor. I had a couple years where I was struggling with injuries and wasn't able to do as well. It weighed on me a little, confidence-wise, particularly in the big points. Right now, I don't feel like I'm far from stepping it up to another level.''

At this point ``another level'' is below joining the game's top players. Another level is simply advancing deeper into tournaments.

``Right now I'm not concentrating on breaking into the top 10 or winning a Grand Slam tournament or winning every other tournament,'' he said.

``I've slipped a little in the rankings and I need to gain that confidence step by step, to give myself the opportunity of getting back to the top.''

For Chang, his quest begins anew back home. Back where it began, back where he last left a champion.

MERCEDES-BENZ CUP

When: Today through Sunday. First match 11 a.m.

Where: Los Angeles Tennis Center at UCLA

Top four seeds: 1. Gustavo Kuerten; 2. Marat Safin; 3. Andre Agassi; 4. Pete Sampras

Today's highlights: Camarillo's Bob Bryan vs. Anthony DuPuis (11 a.m); defending Mercedes-Benz champion Michael Chang vs. Greg Rusedski (approximately 3 p.m.); No. 7 Magnus Norman vs. Cecil Mamiit (approximately 9 p.m.)

Tickets: $25-60; information: [phone]

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Michael Chang, who took the Mercedes-Benz Cup title last year, has not won another tournament since then.

Kevork Djansezian/Associated Press

Box: MERCEDES-BENZ CUP (see text)