 |
Chang Knocked out in Australian Open First Round
Michael Chang of the United States was knocked out of the Australian Open in the first round on Tuesday in Melbourne.
He was beaten 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 by France's Fabrice Santoro in the men's singles. Chang, a French Open champion in 1989 at the age of 17, has now failed to get beyond the third round at any Grand Slam tournament since 1997.
Chang will be 29 next month, but he insisted that he will continue to play.
The Chinese American, a superstar across Asia when he was regularly competing for the game's big prizes, acknowledged that the level of competition in men's tennis made it much harder to get to and stay at the top.
"Obviously the level of tennis is a lot higher now. When I first came on tour you were maybe able to get by the first couple of matches but now there are no easy matches."
In This Section
|