Chang shows the value of experience

The school of thought which says it takes several years to learn to play on grass enjoyed a good day, with plenty of late-twentysomethings posting wins on outside courts and 30-year-old Michael Chang reaching the second round in his 14th Wimbledon.

If this is to be Chang's last year on the tour – his ranking is down to 99 and he has hinted he might quit before long – he is at least going out showing characteristic tenacity allied to immense experience, a combination which proved too much for Lars Burgsmuller in a 6-3 7-6 6-4 victory.

Chang, still the youngest player to win a Grand Slam men's title following his 1989 French Open triumph as a 17-year-old, has never looked comfortable on grass. His best was one quarter-final appearance in 1994, but the speed of the surface negated his relentless chasing so he used his sliced backhand much more than the two-hander he normally prefers as a concession to the lawns.

In 13 previous visits to Wimbledon, Chang has played 11 five-setters and for much of the second set, it looked like being 12. Burgsmuller broke to lead 4-2 and at 5-3 had three set-points, but when Chang broke back and took the tiebreak 7-3, his resistance faded and he conceded defeat on two successive double-faults.

For much of his career Fabrice Santoro has been suspicious of grass, but now 29 he has largely mastered it. He reached the final in Halle last year and yesterday beat Agustin Calleri 2-6 7-6 6-4 4-6 6-3 despite needing treatment for a foot injury early in the match.

Experience also played a part for 26-year-old Nicolas Escude in his four-sets win over the youngest competitor in the men's singles, 18-year-old Alex Bogdanovic. It keeps the 16th-seeded Frenchman on course for a fourth round meeting with Lleyton Hewitt.

If grass is Chang's worst surface, it is unquestionably the best for Raemon Sluiter, the Dutchman who spends much of the year playing Challenger-level tournaments only to re-emerge around Wimbledon time. Two weeks ago he reached the semi-finals of the Stella Artois championships and yesterday knocked out the 20th seed, Spain's Tommy Robredo, 6-1 6-4 6-4.

The 24-year-old from Rotterdam was one of the Netherlands' great hopes as a junior, combining great speed around the court with use of both hands on forehand and backhand. Yet only when he has a big stage and a fast court does he show his full potential, which limits his best moments to Wimbledon and Davis Cup ties.

Sluiter now meets a qualifier, Radek Stepanek, and cannot face a seed until the fourth round – when it could be Tim Henman – following the defeat of another seed, the No 13 Younes el Aynaoui. The Moroccan went out in four sets to Georgian, Irakli Labadze.

The increase in seeded players to 32 means there are more seeding casualties, but the defeat of the women's No 15 Anna Smashova counts as a genuine shock. She has had a good year, but lost to last year's Wimbledon junior champion, Angelique Widjaja from Indonesia.