TENNIS ROUNDUP : Stich Quickly Beats Chang to Reach Final Against Lendl

Defending champion Michael Stich used a punishing service game to overpower Michael Chang, 6-2, 6-2, Saturday night and earn a berth opposite Ivan Lendl in the championship match of the Volvo Indoor tennis tournament in Memphis, Tenn.

Stich, seeded No. 7, beat Chang in 66 minutes, six less than Lendl needed to defeat No. 11 Derrick Rostagno, 6-3, 6-2.

Lendl, ranked third in the world and seeded No. 1 in this tournament, is 3-0 against Stich, ranked 25th. Lendl defeated the German in straight sets in the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Indoor at Philadelphia two weeks ago.

“I’m looking forward to playing Lendl again. This is a different surface and a different tournament,” Stich said. “I think he’s the favorite, but I want to defend my championship. Every time I play him, it’s getting closer.”

Stich had six aces against Chang and hasn’t lost his serve during the tournament.

Lendl gave Rostagno a brief but thorough lesson in tennis.

“I played all right, but I didn’t play great. I guess you could say I played tidy,” said Lendl, who is seeking his 90th title.

Jonas Svensson fought off match point and rallied to beat Guy Forget, 2-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-2, in the semifinals of the Eurocard tournament at Stuttgart, Germany.

Svensson, who ended Forget’s bid for a third tournament victory this year, will play top-ranked Stefan Edberg in today’s final. Edberg beat Jan Siemerink of the Netherlands, 6-4, 6-4.