MASON, Ohio -- Michael Chang stood by the baseline, his hands tucked in his pants pockets, as he listened to speakers recount his 16 years of top-notch tennis.
Instead of a victory, he had to settle for tributes and a going-away gift.
Chang let a first-round match get away Monday in one of his favorite tournaments, losing to a qualifier in three sets at the Cincinnati Masters. A few hours later, he was honored in his final appearance at center court.
Fans stood and applauded Chang, 31, who will retire after the U.S. Open. Tournament organizers gave him a collage of photos from previous appearances.
They had planned to give it to him, win or lose.
"It's a little more fun when you win than when you lose, but it's important to have a good perspective, a good attitude out there," said Chang, a two-time champion in Cincinnati. "The last thing you want to do is walk away from your career and not feel good about being out there."
Chang's 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-0 loss to Hicham Arazi left the $2.45 million tournament without its top draw, its defending champion and its sentimental favorite.
Top-ranked Andre Agassi withdrew on Saturday, choosing to concentrate on the U.S. Open that begins Aug. 25. In the first match on center court Monday, defending champion Carlos Moya ran into more first-round misery.
The fourth-seeded Moya lost to France's Fabrice Santoro 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, his third straight loss in the first round since he won in Croatia last month.
"I have no confidence right now," Moya said. "When you have no confidence, you don't know what to do."
Chang knew what he had to do to finish his career on an upbeat note. He passed up Wimbledon to concentrate on getting ready for the hard courts.
He decided to play Cincinnati because it's good preparation for the U.S. Open and it's always been a personal favorite. His scrappy style played well with fans, and his 41-14 career mark in Cincinnati was his best anywhere.
"You always want to go back to places where you know you're welcome," Chang said. "Generally speaking, you play some of your best tennis there. Cincinnati has definitely been that for me.
"I can recall many times where I've been down in matches and the crowd really got behind me and I was able to pull out some great wins here."
He looked like he was on the verge of another when he got ahead of Arazi 6-5 in the second set, needing just one more game to close it out. He got nervous and lost his serving touch, letting Arazi back in it.
Chang pumped his fists after getting to match point in the tiebreaker, but let that slip away, too. He appeared crestfallen after Arazi broke his serve to start the third set.
"It's a little bit discouraging," Chang said. "Then for some reason, the old energy level kind of went down. The third set went pretty quick."
Chang wants to get in some more matches before the Open, which is one of his other favorite tournaments. He was only 15 years old when he won a match there in 1987, and his 43-16 career mark is second only to his record in Cincinnati.
Chang hasn't made it past the second round in the last five U.S. Opens.
"It's a little bittersweet, but I'm excited about playing the Open," Chang said. "I started my career there as an amateur in 1987. It's a pretty fitting place to finish up."
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