With Chang Out, Tournament Becomes Un-American in Paris

At least Carl Chang wasn’t sitting in the seats at Court Central for hours after another disappointing performance by his brother, Michael Chang.

Carl was the sad symbol of his brother’s futile attempt to win another Grand Slam title last year at the U.S. Open, a solitary figure in the stands after Michael lost to Patrick Rafter in the semifinals.

This time, the 11th-seeded Chang didn’t even make it out of the third round of the French Open, losing, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, 6-4, to unseeded Francisco Clavet of Spain on Saturday. He was the final American male to depart here, the worst performance for the U.S. men in any Grand Slam event in the open era.

Certainly, it will be remembered as a lost opportunity for Chang. Clavet is ranked 37th in the world, one of the lesser members of the daunting Spanish Armada here.

Furthermore, the likes of No. 3-seeded Marcelo Rios of Chile, who is perhaps the hottest clay-court performer this season, former champion Thomas Muster of Austria and serious Spanish threats No. 12-seeded Carlos Moya, No. 13 Albert Costa and No. 15 Felix Mantilla are in the opposite half of the draw, away from Chang. And No. 10-seeded Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands, lost to Cedric Pioline of France, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5.

“It’s always disappointing to lose in a place that means so much to you,” said Chang, who won here in 1989 at age 17. “As far as the disappointment meter, I don’t see it as all that high on the scale.”

A couple of key points hurt Chang in the second-set tiebreaker--an easy overhead knocked long and a loose forehand sailed wide--and let Clavet back in the match. Later, when Chang really needed to dig deep in his usual fashion, his body let him down. His left thigh started cramping and he needed treatment from the trainer before Clavet served for the third set at 5-2.

“I’m more disappointed in my physical condition than anything else,” Chang said. “I felt I was OK. Why things didn’t work out is a mystery to me. Maybe I was trying to get back too quickly [from a knee injury] and play some matches.”

And so, by the end of the first week, Rios is the only one of the top 10 seeded men remaining and the likes of top-seeded Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, former French champion Jim Courier and Chang are not around.

Could this be a turning point for the American men?

“I don’t believe the four of us are aging and kind of going off into the sunset yet. I think we’ve still got quite a few great years left,” the 26-year-old Chang said.

Shortly after Chang lost, the wind picked up and the rain returned, suspending the final singles match of the day, with Hernan Gumy of Argentina, leading two sets to one and facing break point and set point against No. 14 Alex Corretja of Spain. The day had started with some of the nicest weather of the tournament, though that was of little solace to Dominique Van Roost of Belgium. After her third-round match, she was packed in ice.

There were ice bags all around when she spoke to the media. That’s what happens when you get run over by Serena Williams. Williams, 16, a French Open rookie in name only, defeated the 15th-seeded Van Roost, 6-1, 6-1, in 52 minutes, but the score doesn’t do justice to the third-round destruction.

“Her second serve is my first serve,” Van Roost said. “Now, my serve isn’t the best around. But . . .”

Is Williams the hardest-hitting player she has faced?

“Yes,” Van Roost said.

Van Roost was asked if Williams was at one level, and she at another close behind. “No, it’s more like this,” Van Roost said, holding one hand up high and one far below.

Williams was an imposing physical presence at Roland Garros, wearing a yellow dress displaying her formidable shoulders and back muscles. She stood well inside the baseline to attack Van Roost’s second serve.

“It was really imposing how she played,” Van Roost said. “I couldn’t see the court. I just saw her. It’s intimidating to see that. She goes, ‘I’m here.’ ”

To listen to the players, one would have thought Williams was more muscular than Martina Navratilova in her prime.

“I don’t think there’s been anyone that muscular in women’s tennis before,” defending champion Iva Majoli said. “I mean, you look at her, she has hands like a boxer or something.

“I never played Serena. Of course, she hits the ball hard, she’s a very powerful girl. . . . She’s a strong, strong girl.”

Williams was quizzed afterward about the extent of her weight-training program. And, no, she hasn’t been working out with Bobby Kersee.

“I don’t bench press,” she said. “My arms are naturally like this. I hate lifting weights, doing that stuff. It’s too much.”

Though this is only her second clay-court tournament--and only her seventh match on it--Williams is not struggling.

“She watched a lot of matches and really paid attention to what was going on, on the court, more so than listening to what we tell her,” said Williams’ mother, Oracene. “What helped Serena was being on the tour--it’s like an internship. Even though she wasn’t playing, that internship helped her a lot.”

Williams agreed, saying it helped watching her sister, Venus, at the French Open last year.

Serena Williams, who is ranked 27th and is unseeded here, will play former French champion Arantxa Sanchez Vicario of Spain today in the round of 16. Sanchez Vicario, seeded fourth, advanced in straight sets, as did No. 7 Conchita Martinez of Spain, No. 10 Majoli and No. 14 Sandrine Testud of France.

No. 2 Lindsay Davenport survived a few nervous moments in the first set, fighting off three set points in a 7-5, 7-5, third-round victory over Elena Likhovtseva of Russia.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Today’s Featured Matches

MEN

Marcelo Rios (3) vs. Albert Costa (13); Carlos Moya (12) vs. Jens Knippschild; Felix Mantilla (15) vs. Ramon Delgado.

WOMEN

Martina Hingis (1) vs. Anna Smashnova; Lindsay Davenport (2) vs. Sandrine Testud (14); Jana Novotna (3) vs. Anna Kournikova (13); Arantxa Sanchez Vicario (4) vs. Serena Williams; Conchita Martinez (7) vs. Iva Majoli (10); Monica Seles (6) vs. Chanda Rubin; Venus Williams (8) vs. Henrieta Nagyova.