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Chang Struggles at Legg Mason

Being one of the three big-name players on the Legg Mason Tennis Classic promotional poster has not been all good. MaliVai Washington never showed up because of an injury. No. 3 seed Andre Agassi fell Wednesday to the 176th ranked player in the world, Doug Flach. And defending champion Michael Chang, top-seeded and ranked No. 2, seemed poised to join them on the sidelines last night.

Chang struggled badly with 163rd-ranked Michael Joyce early before recovering to defeat him, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, in front of 6,545 at the William H.G. FitzGerald Tennis Center. It was the second straight less-than-perfect performance for Chang, who took three sets — two with tiebreakers — to defeat qualifier Luis Herrera of Mexico Tuesday.

"It's good to get through these kinds of matches," Chang said. "As the summer goes on, and as the week goes on, they'll make me tougher mentally."

No. 2 seed Petr Korda also advanced by defeating France's Fernon Wibier, 6-4, 6-4, in the afternoon. But Flach, who upset Agassi, lost to unseeded German Rainer Schuttler, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (7-4).

In other matches, No. 8 Tommy Haas of Germany beat No. 9 Kenneth Carlsen of Denmark, 6-7 (6-8), 6-4, 6-4. No. 7 Scott Draper of Australia defeated Steve Campbell, 6-3, 7-6 (9-7), while No. 14 Vince Spadea survived to beat Michael Tebbutt of Australia, 5-7, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. Qualifier David Wheaton defeated his second seeded opponent in two days by upsetting No. 5 Jason Stoltenberg of Australia, 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), 7-6 (7-1). No. 11 Bret Steven of New Zealand beat Luke Smith of Australia 6-7 (7-1), 6-2.

Chang will play Draper in one quarterfinal today, while Korda plays Haas.

Although the heat wasn't much better last night when Chang played, the others won their matches in the afternoon session when temperatures were above 110 degrees on the court for the fourth consecutive day.

"Everything could be better," said Chang, who advanced to his eighth quarterfinal in 14 Association of Tennis Professionals Tour events this year. "At this point, my complete game is not there yet, but I feel like I'm competing well."

Joyce, a Los Angeles native who wore his hat backward, matched Chang for a while in a battle of baseline bashes. He broke Chang twice in the first set, displaying a strong return game. Chang was sluggish and anything but sharp, but he hit his stride quickly in the second set. After Joyce held serve to tie the set, 1-1, Chang won the next five games, breaking Joyce twice. At one point, Joyce whiffed at a straight volley.

The third set was much like the second. Joyce held serve to tie, 1-1, and Chang won five of the next six games, breaking Joyce twice. For the match, Chang had four breaks to Joyce's one and 15 aces to Joyce's four.

"I started to serve a little better after the first set, and I started to take more initiative," Chang said. "He came out hitting the ball clean and dictating things in the first. So when I got my serve going, it was a big help."

As for Korda, pressure should be mounting. The hype surrounding Agassi's return from a 2½-month hiatus evaporated in the hot air with his loss. And that shifted some of the attention to the quiet Korda, along with Chang.

But Korda wore a relaxed smile after he defeated Wibier, 6-4, 6-4, yesterday afternoon to advance to his seventh ATP Tour quarterfinal of the year. It should give Korda his first top 20 ranking since 1995.

"I can ease up a bit now, put the pressure away and enjoy what I've accomplished," said Korda, who won this tournament in 1992 but has struggled with groin problems the past two years. He is ranked 21st this week. "It was my goal to come back from my injuries and get into the top 20. What I went through was a hell of a tough time. No one would put a penny on me. But I made it today, and now it's time to have some fun."

At one time, Korda never worried about his ranking. He was in the top 20 every week from Aug. 19, 1991 to Feb. 6, 1995. He was in the top 10 and as high as fifth from Feb. 24, 1992 to July 12, 1993. But a groin injury that hampered him for 1½ years became unbearable, and Korda fell to 60th by May of 1995.

He had surgery to repair the groin that October, and in June 1996, he had a similar procedure done to his right groin. "I was ready to quit," said Korda, who is from the Czech Republic. Victories such as yesterday's kept Korda alive and playing, however. Against Wibier, Korda refused to be broken. He saved all of his six break points and never fell behind in a set.

"I didn't play very well, though," Korda said. "It was a tough match mentally, because I knew I would make the top 20, if I won. It's big, because I reached something, a goal I had set for myself. But it's not over yet. I feel I can go further. I'm finally 100 percent healthy, and I feel young inside."

Wheaton, ranked 12th and a Wimbledon semifinalist in 1991, continued his comeback from injury. Bone spurs were removed from his right Achilles' tendon March 31, and the resulting discomfort had hampered his game until this week. After having to qualify for the tournament, he defeated No. 12 Marzio Martelli of Italy on Wednesday.