U.S. Open Tennis Championships : Chang, an Easy Winner, Is on Higher Level This Year

NEW YORK —  During a rain delay before the start of his first-round match in the U.S. Open earlier this week, Michael Chang caught a glimpse on television of himself against Andre Agassi a year ago. He couldn’t believe how much he had matured, both physically and mentally.

After watching only a few points, he turned to his coach, John Austin, and commented: “What a difference. Last year, I just went out to have fun.”

Chang is indeed different this year, as he proved in his 6-1, 6-3, 6-3 thrashing of Sweden’s Thomas Hogstedt in the second round yesterday. This year, the tennis may still be fun for the 17-year-old Chang, but as the reigning French Open champion and No. 7-ranked player in the world, it is also very serious business.

“I think that the expectations are higher,” he said. “I thought of myself at a certain level and going higher. But then the French Open came along and I just shot up to the higher level, and everyone expected me to play at that level all the time.”

If Chang is a different person this year, then so is Agassi, who also had an easy win, beating South African Neil Broad, 6-3, 6-2, 6-3.

Tennis is clearly not as much fun for Agassi now as it was when he began last year’s Open riding the wave of three consecutive tournament victories and an 18-match winning streak. This year, he has yet to win a title and has recorded recent losses to such inauspicious opponents as David Wheaton, Carl-Uwe Steeb, Andres Gomez and Jim Courier.

Much of the attention here has been focused on such Agassi and Chang contemporaries as Pete Sampras, who upset Mats Wilander two days ago, and Courier, who will play Ivan Lendl in the third round. Both are promising young players.

In other matches, Jimmy Connors, who turns 37 Saturday, rallied to defeat 23-year-old qualifier Bryan Shelton, 6-7, 6-2, 6-2, 6-2, and Lendl scored a snappy, 78-minute 6-2, 6-1, 6-1 victory over John Fitzgerald of Australia.