By Jocelyn Noveck
Associated Press Writer
Saturday, May 30, 1998; 4:19 p.m. EDT

PARIS — The crowd at the French Open always has had a soft spot for Michael Chang. It showed on Saturday, when he came out to play what ended up being the final game against Francisco Clavet.

``Allez Chang!'' they yelled, in a manner usually reserved for French players.

But it wasn't the same Chang that won here in 1989, a 17-year-old who managed to topple Ivan Lendl and Stefan Edberg on the way to the title.

It wasn't the same Chang who, cramping terribly in a fourth-round match, came up with the idea of serving underhanded to throw Lendl off balance.

Now Chang is 26, and he hasn't won a Grand Slam title since. In one year, he's gone from being seeded second here to 11th. And all the crowd's support wasn't enough to save him this time.

Clavet, a Spaniard ranked 37th in the world, won the third-round match 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-4.

Curiously, Chang, who's always been known for top physical conditioning, said that this time he wasn't fit enough. Even more curiously, he didn't know why.

``You know, I don't really know,'' he said. ``Maybe I didn't quite allow myself enough time to prepare.

``Maybe it's something that I took a little for granted.''

Strange words for a player who's always seemed to take nothing for granted — who's always tried a bit harder, always run a few steps more than most players would to reach a ball.

Stranger still was to hear that he wasn't too disappointed.

``To be honest with you, I think as you get older, you learn a little bit more,'' he said. ``Maybe in certain aspects you don't get quite as ticked off about certain situations.''

It raised the obvious question, one that grows louder each year: Can Chang win another Grand Slam title? Has he lost not only the ability, but maybe the desire, too?

Some saw a turning point at last year's U.S. Open. Chang, ranked second in the world, reached the semifinals with perhaps the chance of a lifetime to win the title, with Pete Sampras out of the draw.

But he lost to underdog Pat Rafter, who overwhelmed him with his powerful serve-and-volley tennis. Rafter went on to win the championship.

Since then, Chang has had a frustrating year. He suffered a knee injury in February, which kept him off the tour for nearly two months. Later, he had wrist problems. He's won no titles this year, and his world ranking has slipped to 11th.

Chang says he doesn't think the twilight of his career is near.

But the passage of time doesn't favor a player who relies on being faster than the others, who has to run down more balls to compensate for being smaller.

When pressed Saturday to be introspective, Chang returned as he often does to the subject of faith.

Asked what his loss meant, he replied: ``I think it means that I need to continue to have faith. You have to have the faith that things will turn around.''

In fact, Chang said, it's better to have the downs in life, because they make the ups better.

``That's the fun part of life in many aspects, to be able to come back,'' he said.