TENNIS ROUNDUP : Chang Looks at Home in Paris
The last time Michael Chang played in Paris, he surprised nearly everyone by winning the French Open championship.
He isn’t surprising anyone anymore, but Chang is still winning impressively. He took just more than an hour to beat defending champion Amos Mansdorf of Israel, 6-3, 6-2, Monday in the Paris Open.
Second-seeded Stefan Edberg of Sweden also advanced easily, beating Andrei Chesnokov of the Soviet Union, 6-2, 6-3. It was the heavily favored Edberg who lost to Chang in the French Open final in June. The crowds then belonged to Chang, but not this time.
“I thought it was kind of a mixed crowd,†Chang said. “Some were for Amos because he won here last year, and some were for me because I won at Roland Garros.â€
Chang next plays Henri Leconte of France. Leconte, a wild-card entry because his ranking has dropped to 37th in the world, survived three set points in the first set and coasted to a 7-6 (10-8), 6-0 victory over Richard Matuszewski.
“It’s not going to be easy against Henri,†Chang said. “He is a guy with so much talent. I played him twice and lost to him twice. I just hope everything turns out well.â€
Leconte had a back operation that sidelined him for almost six months.
In other matches, sixth-seeded Aaron Krickstein had no trouble with Mikael Pernfors, winning, 6-1, 6-3, as the Swede made numerous unforced errors. Martin Jaite of Argentina defeated West Germany’s Carl-Uwe Steeb, 2-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7-3).
Third-seeded Zina Garrison needed only 46 minutes to beat Patty Murren, 6-2, 6-1, in the Virginia Slims of New England tournament at Worcester, Mass.
Murren was a last-minute entry replacing Gigi Fernandez, who had to withdraw because of an injury.
Fourth-seeded Conchita Martinez of Spain defeated Peanut Harper, 6-2, 6-0.
Top-seeded Katerina Maleeva defeated unseeded Tami Whitlinger, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, in the first round of the Virginia Slims of Indianapolis. Whitlinger is a former standout at Stanford.
“I got tentative and nervous after the first set and I wasn’t letting myself play my game,†said Whitlinger. “I was encouraged to know I could play that well against a great player, but I still have a lot of room for improvement.â€
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
