Ojai Tennis Tournament : The Other Chang Likes Life Without Spotlights

OJAI —  The name is Chang, but it is Carl, not Michael, the famous teen-age tennis-playing sibling. The surname may be the only thing shared equally between these brothers.

Common ground has not been broken. Michael is rich and Carl is studying political science and business at Cal. Michael is thin, Carl is pudgy. Michael’s talent is prodigious, and Carl plays as low as No. 4 singles on his college team. Michael is even younger, by three years.

While 17-year-old Michael is in Atlanta making thousands of dollars at an exhibition, Carl Chang is playing for free at the Ojai Valley tournament. He won his first-round match by default, but lost to Pat Galbraith of UCLA in the next round.

Galbraith said Chang is a battler. He is playing a winning game, too, no matter if he isn’t Michael.

“It’s just like Patrick McEnroe,” Galbraith said. “He’s not the same person as his brother, either. Some people are just given more talent than their brother. That’s the way the ball bounces.”

At least Carl Chang has been seeing the ball well and it is bouncing true for him. He has no complaints about how the family’s tennis genes were divided. He sounds genuine when he says he is happy for his brother’s success, not envious of it.

In fact, Carl thinks Michael might even be jealous of him.

“He has the best of me because of tennis, but I have the best of him because I can be a normal human being,” Carl Chang said. “I think Michael is being short-changed socially. I think it probably bothers him because my life is more normal than his.”

Joe Chang said he allowed his two sons to work out their relationship on their own.

“We always tried to treat the two kids fairly,” the elder Chang said. “We don’t encourage one particular person. We always do things together.”

Carl Chang said he is asked about his younger brother every day and always replies that he’s happy Michael has made it.

As far as tennis goes, Carl describes himself as a “basher.” Like Michael, Carl stays on the baseline, but he does come in to the net when he gets a short ball. The two Changs might even serve somewhat alike, but that’s where the similarity ends.

“Everybody is always doing all this comparing, but I just see myself as doing something well,” Carl said. “Maybe I’ll never do it as well as Michael. Maybe that just wasn’t meant to be.

“But I don’t see myself in anybody’s shadow.”

Chang can see himself in Michael’s corner, though, maybe behind a desk with him. After he finishes school and gets his masters degree in business, Carl Chang said he may become Michael’s agent.

They’ve already discussed it, talked about the time when the two brothers can be on the sameteam.

Galbraith, who hopes his singles record will be good enough for him to play in the NCAA tournament, came from a set down to defeat Eric Amend of USC, 6-7 (4-7), 6-3, 6-3, Saturday in a Pacific 10 semifinal.

Today’s final will be all-UCLA. Galbraith will play Bruin teammate Buff Farrow, who defeated Martin Blackman, 6-3, 6-7 (5-7), 6-0.

Since Galbraith is the No. 3 singles player for the Bruins, he probably wasn’t supposed to reach the finals.

“Yeah, and I probably wasn’t supposed to be in the semifinals, either,” he said.

Galbraith, a left-handed serve-and-volley doubles specialist, has a 22-4 dual meet singles record, which puts him on the bubble as far as whether he’ll make the NCAA field. But his match with Farrow won’t change anything.

“It’ll be fun,” he said. “I’ve got nothing to lose. If I win, I’ll still be playing No. 3 singles. And if I lose, I’ll still be playing No. 3 singles.”