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By Sandra Harwitt
After a yearlong farewell tour, Michael Chang took his final
bow as planned at the U.S. Open in late August.
With the departure of both Chang and Sampras at this year’s
U.S. Open, and Jim Courier’s retirement a number of years
ago, only Andre Agassi remains among the “American Fab
Four” who took the tennis world by storm in the latter
part of the last century.
The 31-year-old Chang, who fell in the first round 6-3, 7-5,
5-7, 6-4 to Chilean Fernando Gonzalez, had been working his
way through to retirement all year long. When his appointed
final moment came, he was ready to bid good-bye with a smile
and then take some time for reflection.
“I think it was a goal of mine to be able to have fun
today and to have fun this year, this last year,” Chang
said immediately after his final match. “I really think
that if you walk away from the tour feeling like, “I
should have done that, I should have done that,’ have
regrets, and not walk away with a smile then something’s
not right. You recognize that 16 years on tour have been so
much of a blessing in your life. I think it’s important
to walk away feeling good, regardless of whether you win or
whether you lose.”
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