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'I just couldn't close it'

Chang blows two match points, loses in Hamburg

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Posted: Monday May 03, 1999 12:59 PM

Michael Chang: "I don't feel I am playing horribly but I am not playing great either." Aubrey Washington/Allsport

HAMBURG, Germany (AP) -- Michael Chang squandered two match points and went on to be ousted Monday from the German Open by Sjeng Schalken.

Schalken rallied to upset the American 6-7 (3-7), 6-1, 7-6 (7-5).

Chang held two match points at Schalken's serve at 5-4 in the third set. But the Dutchman survived them both and prevailed in the tiebreaker by winning the last two points.

"All I had to do was make that backhand volley," Chang said.

"I had those match points, I was serving for the match. But I just couldn't close it," Chang said.

"It's been that kind of year and hopefully it can't last forever," he said.

A former top 10 players who won the French Open in 1989, Chang has been struggling with his game and is sinking rapidly in the rankings. He is now ranked No. 42, while Schalken is No. 53.

Chang ended 1996 ranked No. 2 and 1997 ranked No. 3, but struggled with injuries last year. Apart from reaching the semifinals in San Jose in February, Chang has not advanced past the second round in any other tournament.

"The initial decline was the result of injuries," Chang said. "Now, I don't feel I am playing horribly but I am not playing great either."

The $2.54-million clay court tournament has been hurt with the withdrawal of Yevgeny Kafelnikov, who became the new No. 1 on Monday, replacing Pete Sampras.

Kafelnikov, who has lost six straight opening-round matches on the tour, pulled out with a viral infection.

Third-ranked Alex Corretja and No. 10 Karol Kucera also withdrew from one of the top clay-court events of the year, both because of illnesses. Sampras and fourth-ranked Patrick Rafter did not enter.

Wayne Ferreira and Marat Safin, the only two seeded players in action Monday, both advanced.

Ferreira, No. 13, edged Michael Kohlmann, a wild card from Germany, 7-5, 7-5, while Safin, No. 16, defeated Daniel Vacek 6-3, 7-6 (7-3). Five qualifiers made it into the second round -- Adrian Voinea, Oliver Gross, Arnauld di Pasquale, Marco Meneschincheri and Tuomas Ketola.

Meneschinceri, an Italian ranked No. 181, upset 67th-ranked Jan Kroslak of Slovakia 1-6, 7-5, 6-4, while Ketola, a Finn, beat Ramon Delgado of Paraguay 6-3, 7-5.

 

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