After two days of rain the Hong Kong crowd got another disappointment when play started on Thursday as Michael Chang went out in the first round.

The Chinese-American star went down 7-6 6-4 to fourth seed Alex Corretja in what was his final professional appearance in Hong Kong.

"This is the last time I will be playing in Hong Kong," said the 30-year-old, making his 12th consecutive appearance at the event.

"I have a lot of great memories of this place and it will always be special to me."

The latest star of Asian tennis, Thailand's Paradorn Srichaphan, also made an early exit, losing 6-4 0-6 7-5 to American Taylor Dent.

Top seeded Marat Safin finally got his campaign under way after the schedule was washed out on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The Russian swept past Germany's Lars Burgsmuller 6-2 6-2, while second seed Juan Carlos Ferrero completed his match against Stefan Koubek, winning 6-2 6-4.

Fellow Spaniard and third seed Carlos Moya had a hard-fought battle with American Jan-Michael Gambill before coming through 6-4 3-6 6-3.

There were also wins for fifth seed Juan Ignacio Chela over wild card Magnus Norman, and seventh seed Nicolas Lapentti over Agustin Calleri.

The tournament's sixth seed American James Blake pulled out on Tuesday with a leg injury.

Thursday's Salem Open results