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| March 22, 2003 | Saturday | Muharram 18, 1424 |
Cheers and ovation for veteran Chang
MIAMI, March 21: Michael Chang brought cheers and a standing ovation from his adoring fans in Key Biscayne on Thursday night as he swatted aside the challenge of Nicolas Kiefer in the Nasdaq-100 Open.
His 6-2 6-2 first-round victory in an hour and two minutes set up a mouth-watering all-American showdown on Saturday with defending champion Andre Agassi.
The 31-year-old is on his farewell tour from professional tennis but he is not about to bow out quietly.
Chang, who became the youngest grand slam champion at 17 years and three months when he won the 1989 French Open, was given a wild card into the main draw here, a tournament he won 11 years ago.
Many expected his match against Kiefer to be his last in Miami but Chang’s powerful ground-strokes and speed around the court wore down his German opponent.
Mark Philippoussis blasted down 16 aces on his way to a 7-6 6-4 victory over Fernando Lopez of Spain and afterwards declared himself pleased with his progress since a knee injury at last year’s U.S. Open forced him to miss the rest of the year.
Philippoussis, who spends time surfing near his new California home to help build his leg muscles back up, fancies his chances of a prolonged run in the tournament if his strength holds up.
He will play Fernando Gonzalez, the 20th seed from Chile, in the second round.
Thomas Enqvist, a former Australian Open finalist, kept the Number One Court crowd enthralled for more than two hours in his 6-4 6-7 6-3 win against Michael Llodra of France.
The Swede’s second-round opponent is Gustavo Kuerten of Brazil, the former world number one who has recovered well from hip surgery a year ago.
Kuerten, the 15th seed, was runner-up to Lleyton Hewitt in Indian Wells last week.
Karol Kucera was a casualty of the heat in the day session.
The Slovakian, a former Australian Open semi-finalist, retired at 0-4 in the second set of his first-round match against qualifier Fernando Verdasco of Spain, having dropped the first set 6-2.
Kucera, the world No 48, blamed an upset stomach for his withdrawal, exacerbated by the intense midday heat at the Crandon Park Tennis Centre that saw on-court temperatures climbing well above 100 degrees Fahrenheit for the second successive day.
Results (prefix number denotes seeding):
MEN (First round): Franco Squillari (Argentina) beat Mario Ancic (Croatia) 6-7 (5-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4; Mark Philippoussis (Australia) beat Feliciano Lopez (Spain) 7-6 (7-5) 6-4; Michael Chang (U.S.) beat Nicolas Kiefer (Germany) 6-2 6-2; Vincent Spadea (U.S.) beat Christophe Rochus (Belgium) 6-3 6-4; Martin Verkerk (Netherlands) beat Sargis Sargsian (Armenia) 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7-1); Felix Mantilla (Spain) beat Lars Burgsmuller (Germany) 6-3 6-1; Jean-Rene Lisnard (France) beat Richard Gasquet (France) 3-6 6-1 2-1 retired; Thomas Enqvist (Sweden) beat Michael Llodra (France) 6-4 6-7 (5-7) 6-3; Francisco Clavet (Spain) beat Vladimir Voltchkov (Belarus) 6-0 3-0 retired; Arnaud Clement (France) beat Peter Luczak (Australia) 6-4 6-4; Jonas Bjorkman (Sweden) beat Andre Sa (Brazil) 3-6 6-4 6-4; Agustin Calleri (Argentina) beat David Sanchez (Spain) 6-1 6-4; Fernando Vicente (Spain) beat Andrei Stoliarov (Russia) 6-4 7-5; Anthony Dupuis (France) beat Raemon Sluiter (Netherlands) 6-3 6-4; Davide Sanguinetti (Italy) beat Albert Montanes (Spain) 6-4 6-1; Cyril Saulnier (France) beat Ivan Ljubicic (Croatia) 7-6 (7-4) 6-4; Luis Horna (Peru) beat Nikolay Davydenko (Russia) 6-3 6-4; Fernando Verdasco (Spain) beat Karol Kucera (Slovakia) 6-2 4-0 retired; Nicolas Massu (Chile) beat Kenneth Carlsen (Denmark) 6-4 6-3; Olivier Rochus (Belgium) beat Jan Vacek (Czech Republic) 3-6 7-5 6-1; Flavio Saretta (Brazil) beat Alberto Martin (Spain) 6-3 6-1
WOMEN (First round): Jill Craybas (U.S.) beat Asa Svensson (Sweden) 4-6 7-6 (7-3) 2-0 retired; Dinara Safina (Russia) beat Anna Kournikova (Russia) 6-1 6-4; Meilen Tu (U.S.) beat Bethanie Mattek (U.S.) 6-1 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-4); Sarah Taylor (U.S.) beat Mashona Washington (U.S.) 5-7 6-4 6-0; Carly Gullickson (U.S.) beat Joannette Kruger (South Africa) 2-6 6-3 6-2; Katarina Srebotnik (Slovenia) beat Tatiana Golovin (France) 6-1 2-6 6-4; Denisa Chladkova (Czech Republic) beat Vera Zvonareva () 6-4 6-4; Daja Bedanova (Czech Republic) beat Stephanie Foretz (France) 6-3 6-3; Vera Douchevina (Russia) beat Patricia Wartusch (Austria) 6-0 6-3; Emmanuelle Gagliardi (Switzerland) beat Virginie Razzano (France) 6-4 6-0; Shinobu Asagoe (Japan) beat Magui Serna (Spain) 6-4 6-4; Tatiana Poutchek (Belarus) beat Rita Grande (Italy) 6-2 1-6 6-3; Marta Marrero (Spain) beat Klara Koukalova (Czech Republic) 4-6 7-5 6-0; Anastassia Rodionova (Russia) beat Iveta Benesova (Czech Republic) 6-4 7-6 (8-6); Alina Jidkova (Russia) beat Anca Barna (Germany) 7-5 6-3; Marlene Weingartner (Germany) beat Martina Muller (Germany) 6-2 7-5.—Reuters
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