INFINITI OPEN : EARLY DOMINANCE PROPELS CHANG.Byline: Alan Springer Special to the Daily News Michael Chang Michael Te-Pei Chang (張德培; Pinyin: Zhāng Dépéi; born February 22 1972, in Hoboken, New Jersey, U.S.) is an American former professional tennis player. played well when he had to in his second-round match Wednesday at the Infiniti Open at UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX . Just ask Martin Damm Martin Damm (born August 1, 1972 in Liberec) is a tennis player from the Czech Republic, who turned professional in 1990. He is best known for his achievements as a doubles player. As of April, 2007, Damm hasn't won a title in singles, but won a total number of 36 titles in doubles. of the Czech Republic Czech Republic, Czech Česká Republika (2005 est. pop. 10,241,000), republic, 29,677 sq mi (78,864 sq km), central Europe. It is bordered by Slovakia on the east, Austria on the south, Germany on the west, and Poland on the north. , who fell 6-0, 3-6, 7-5. Chang played incredible tennis in a first set that lasted only 21 minutes. It seemed at times, in fact, as if there were no one on the other side. Chang only trailed Damm one time in the set and that was at 40-30 in the fourth game. Chang then got the next three points. ``I don't feel that comfortable being up 6-0 after the first set,'' said Chang, who beat Damm in three sets in an April match in Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. . ``This was just a crazy match. I don't like playing in matches like this. There is no way I can describe what happened after that first set.'' In the second set, Damm seemed more in control than Chang. Damm, who said he was nervous in the first set, went up 3-1 before Chang tied him at 3-3. Chang was broken by Damm three times in the set. ``It's difficult to play against Michael,'' said Damm, who celebrates his 24th birthday today. ``He is a great player. I had no confidence in the first set. I gained it later in the match, but I knew he would come back.'' In the third set, Chang led 5-2 before Damm tied at five games with two service aces. Chang then hit to opposite sides of the court, and he won the last two games to take the set. ``I just wanted to get through the match,'' Chang said. ``It was good for me mentally to play in a match like that. I always think that there is room for improvement.'' This is Chang's eighth appearance in the tournament. With the win, he moves into the quarterfinals for the fourth time. Three times he has lost in the finals. He will meet Stefano Pescosolido Stefano Pescosolido (born June 13, 1971) is a former tennis player from Italy, who turned professional in 1989. He was born in Sora. He represented his native country at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia, where he was defeated in the first round by Brazil's , who advanced earlier in the day by defeating Anthony DuPuis 6-3, 6-2. Chang, who has a 1-2 lifetime record against Pescosolido, was eliminated by him in the second round of this tournament in 1991. Chang, the No. 1 seed, is ranked No. 3 in the world. He advanced to the second round after beating Mauricio Hadad easily 6-2, 6-1. ``It would really mean a lot to me to win this tournament in Southern California Southern California, also colloquially known as SoCal, is the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Centered on the cities of Los Angeles and San Diego, Southern California is home to nearly 24 million people and is the nation's second most populated region, ,'' said Chang, who grew up playing tennis in here and has been on the pro tour since 1988 when he joined at the age of 16. ``Hopefully, one day in Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. I can raise that trophy above my head. I thought last time I reached the final, third time's the charm. Well, maybe this time will be my turn.'' Mike and Bob Bryan
Robert ("Bob") Charles Bryan (born on April 29, 1978 in Camarillo, California) is an American male professional tennis player. Bob stands 6'4" tall, weighs 202 lbs, and plays left handed. , the 18-year-old twins from Camarillo, made their first appearance in doubles play on Wednesday. The Bryans, competing in their third ATP ATP: see adenosine triphosphate. ATP in full adenosine triphosphate Organic compound, substrate in many enzyme-catalyzed reactions (see catalysis) in the cells of animals, plants, and microorganisms. tournament, lost to Keith Evans and Michael Joyce 6-4, 7-6 (8-6). The Bryans, who earned a wild-card berth to the U.S. Open last year, won the 18-year-old U.S. national title. They have decided to put their ATP Tour plans on hold for a while as they enter Stanford this fall. ``It's good that we play well together,'' Mike said. ``We have always played together, and we know each other's game so well. I know his game and he knows mine, and that's what makes things so easy on the court. We know where we are going to hit it.'' Stefan Edberg played his first-round match late Tuesday night, defeating Steve Downs 6-2, 6-4. After the match, the 30-year-old Edberg, who will be retiring at the end of the season, was honored. Edberg won the tournament in 1990. |
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