Chang's message remains the same as it has been since he became a Christian in 1988, his rookie year on the pro tour.

"You may ask why I choose to share about Christ," Chang said Friday. "I could spend my time doing other things, especially now that I'm retired. It's because I've found so much joy in loving the Lord, and I want others to find it, too."

The kind, gentle Michael Chang is even kinder and gentler, and blissfully at peace "living the quiet life." All that's missing is the rush of those most memorable matches, and his remarkably relentless game, which he first truly shared with the tennis world in his 1989 French Open semifinal against Ivan Lendl.

Down two sets, Chang, then 17, rallied to tie the match. The surge sapped the energy from his 5-foot-9 body. Cramps crept in. Chang recalled walking toward the chair umpire to default in the fifth set.

At the service line, "something stirred inside my heart" and Chang realized it wasn't important if he won or lost the match, just that "I finish the race. I still can't comprehend how I won that match."

It remains one of the most riveting in tennis history. Chang served underhand. He crowded the service line on Lendl's serve, throwing him so off-balance he double faulted. Even with cramps, Chang ran down everything.

He beat Stefan Edberg in the final to become the first American since 1955 to win at Roland Garros. Even now, he calls that victory the most vivid memory of his tennis career, particularly the Lendl match.

"I often tell people that the French Open is a tournament that I always felt in my heart the Lord wanted me to win," Chang said. "People ask why and I say, there's a reason why I'm Chinese and there's a reason things happen the way they do.

"During that tournament in Paris the situation in Tiananmen Square was going on. (The Chinese government had ordered tanks to roll into Tiananmen Square to attack pro-democracy protesters, several hundred of whom were killed).

"It was a very down time for Chinese people around the world. I always felt that if, for me to win the French Open would put a smile on peoples' faces just for a moment — take their mind off the situation — that was a good thing. I felt in many, many ways God used me in those aspects. I was inspired by the courage they showed over there."

Chang was the first of "one of U.S. tennis' most treasured generations" to capture a major. Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi and Jim Courier would win 26 more. Chang would never win another major. But there would be 33 other singles titles.

Through his retirement last year, Chang's impact was always an intriguing anomaly. He succeeded at the highest level in the humblest way possible. Chang had none of Agassi's flamboyance nor Sampras' brute skill. His game was to outlast opponents, grind them into the clay, grass or hardcourts. Then hug them, politely accept accolades, and go on living his quiet life of "family, faith and friends."

With that French Open victory as his springboard, Chang became one of the most popular athletes on the planet, particularly within the Asian community. First Chinese Church, with a congregation of 600, printed 1,000 tickets for his free appearance Friday. Those disappeared, so it printed 500 more.

What the crowd heard was a sincere, straightforward testimony from Chang that lasted 35 minutes, including the Chinese translation — with a few references to his late, great, past life.

"Tennis and Christianity have one commonality — to give love," Chang said. "When I'm on the tennis court, I try to give my opponent all the love he can take. In every game, every set, every match. On the court or off the court, it's all about love, baby."

Chang stopped and smiled. "Obviously in tennis, love means nothing," he added. "But in life it means everything."