TENNIS ROUNDUP : Chang Goes on the Offensive, Beats Top-Ranked Courier to Win Title

The No. 1 ranking went to Jim Courier, but the Volvo San Francisco championship went to second-seeded Michael Chang of Coto de Caza.

Having already secured the top ranking in the world, Courier was beaten by Chang, 6-3, 6-3, Sunday in the final of the $260,000 indoor tournament at the San Francisco Civic Auditorium.

“Michael played really well and didn’t allow me to play like I wanted to,” Courier said. “I feel relaxed (about being No. 1), but obviously I’m disappointed that I could not come through and close out the tournament.”

The top-seeded Courier earned enough points to surpass Stefan Edberg of Sweden in the ATP rankings by making the finals of the indoor tournament. Courier said he did not believe he suffered a letdown after earning his No. 1 ranking.

“It was Michael more than anything,” Courier said. “He ran down a lot of balls. Some balls that I didn’t expect to come back came back--and came back deep.”

In previous years, Chang was a much more one-dimensional player, staying back on the baseline. Throughout this tournament he surprised his opponents by attacking the net.

“It’s getting more and more difficult to win playing a defensive game, which I did when I started out,” Chang said. “Guys like Jim are hitting forehands at mach speed, and it’s getting harder to run those balls down. I need to mix it up a little bit, not be so predictable, and come in more.”

Courier had won his first 10 matches of 1992, including a six-match ride to the Australian Open championship two weeks ago, before losing to Chang for the second time in three career meetings.

Chang, who won this tournament in 1988 for his first professional singles title, did not lose a set as he stormed to his sixth pro title. He lost 26 games in five matches, and had his serve broken only four times.

“This is a very special tournament for me because I won my first tournament here,” Chang said. “I feel very comfortable here . . . and a lot of things have gone right.”

Chang, ranked 16th in the world at the start of the tournament, jumped on the next No. 1 player at the start, winning the first three games, and 14 of the match’s first 18 points.