NEW YORK --- Play enough tennis and it's bound to happen. The double-bagel loss.
Chang Kai-chen advanced in the U.S. Open and wound up with a difficult matchup in the second round -- top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, the woman Chang calls "a wall."
Indeed, everything came back during 47 ugly minutes in Arthur Ashe Stadium. Chang found herself on the wrong end of the worst kind of defeat -- 6-0, 6-0.
"I'm pretty disappointed, but not embarrassed," Chang said. "I know it's in front of a lot of people and on TV and stuff. But things happen."
Chang's mother came over from Taiwan to share in the U.S. Open experience.
"She saw a pretty ugly match," Chang said, "but I'm happy she's here with me."
WHAT HAPPENED?: Richard Gasquet 's convincing win over No. 6 seed Nikolay Davydenko left some people wondering if the winner was really that good, or the loser was really that bad.
Davydenko knew where he stood.
"I didn't play so good, so I can't even tell you how he played," the Russian said after a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 loss that was stunning mostly because of its thoroughness.
Gasquet appears to be rounding back into the form he was at in 2007, when he reached the world's top 10. Last year, though, he gained notoriety when he was suspended for 21/2 months after testing positive for cocaine -- a penalty he successfully appealed when he said the drug inadvertently entered his system when he kissed a woman at a nightclub.
FIVE IN FIVE: The third consecutive day of extreme heat had the biggest impact on Kei Nishikori and No. 11 Marin Cilic , who needed one minute short of five hours to grind through their five-set match -- a 5-7, 7-6 (6), 3-6, 7-6 (3), 6-1 win for Nishikori.
With temperatures in the mid-90s, both players started cramping about two or three hours into the match. Both called for trainers, took breaks whenever they could. Both were walking gingerly when the match was over.
The Augusta Chronicle ©2012. All Rights Reserved.
