BY MICHAEL PERRY
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MASON -- Great American Insurance ATP Championship fans probably will not see the Michael Chang this year they are used to seeing. From 1993-96, Chang appeared in the championship match, winning titles in 1993 and '94. He owned the court and thrilled the crowds. But this has been a trying time for the world's former No. 2 player, who has dropped to No. 20 in the rankings.
Changs injuries have dropped his ranking from No. 2 to 20.
(AP photo)
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He has suffered through torn knee ligaments and tendinitis in his left wrist and has been enduring the most injury-plagued year of his career.
"This week I don't really have very high expectations to be honest with you," Chang said Sunday. "I'm not going to concentrate on winning the event, or even getting to the finals. I'm just taking things point by point."
His first-round match will be Tuesday against No. 58 Todd Woodbridge. If Chang gets by Woodbridge, he will face seventh-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov.
Lurking in the same quarterfinal bracket is Marcelo Rios, who becomes No. 1 today.
Chang is 23-11 on the year. He has not won a tournament but was runner-up in Orlando (to Jim Courier) and Memphis (to Mark Philippoussis). He has not played in two weeks, since the Legg Mason Classic in Washington, D.C., when he had to pull out of the tournament because of his wrist after advancing to the semifinals.
The wrist injury, he said, came as the result of trying to compensate for the knee injury. He hurt his knee at Indian Wells, Calif., in March. Chang was practicing with Andrei Medvedev when the clay-court next to them was being watered down. Chang said some of the mist from the sprinklers came over and got a corner of his court damp, and he found the wet spot going for a shot.
His right foot slipped. His left leg gave in to compensate and his knee just "popped and gave out."
"This year I've been able to play about three tournaments injury-free, and it's been a joke," Chang said. "It's incredibly discouraging. You feel like you work hard and you try to get things back to where you'd like them to be, but some things just don't come so easily as far as the body healing."
He has tried to battle through the injuries, but the ATP Tour is demanding and allows no let up.
This is the second time in his career that Chang, 26, has been seriously hurt. He suffered a hip fracture in 1989, the year he won his only Grand Slam title at the French Open.
His long-term goals remain unchanged: Chang wants to win more Grand Slam titles and rise to No. 1.
"Those things are definitely in my mind and will always be on my mind," Chang said. "I know they're not out of my reach. I know somewhere down the line the Lord's going to bless me.
"At this point in time, my primary concern is getting healthy. When I'm able to be 100 percent, I know I can beat anybody out there. I know I can be the best in the world. "
