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Taiwan’s Lu knocks Troicki out of Wimbledon 2nd round

Taiwan-born tennis star Lu Yen-hsun advances into the third round of the Wimbledon championship after defeating Viktor Troicki of Serbia June 23. (CNA)

• Publication Date：06/24/2011
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  Kwangyin Liu

Taiwanese tennis star Lu Yen-hsun beat world No.12 Viktor Troicki of Serbia June 23 to move into the third round of the 2011 Wimbledon championship.

Lu won the match in straight sets, garnering a 7-6 (5), 6-4, 6-4 victory over Troicki, moving into the last 32 in the men’s singles in just over two hours.

“Trocki is a very experienced and strong opponent,” the 27-year-old Lu said after the match. The Serbian player is the No. 13 seed at the tournament, while Lu is seeded No. 78, and currently ranked 57th in the world.

Lu kept 75 percent of his first serves in, while Troicki suffered from a low first serve percentage. The Taiwanese ace also played very strongly at the net, scoring a perfect 10-for-10.

“I have to gear up for the following matches, as I’ll certainly encounter tougher players very soon,” Lu said. He next meets 19th seed Michael Llodra of France. The lefthander Llodra, a traditional serve-and-volley style competitor, defeated Brazilian Ricardo Mello in four sets.

This marks Lu’s second victory at this year’s grand slam event, after he dumped world No. 31 Tommy Robredo of Spain in a 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 win in the first round June 21.

“We are very proud of Lu’s performance,” said Steve Chang, chairman of Taiwan’s Trend Micro Inc., which has been partnering with Lu in various advertising campaigns since 2010.

“He played like a master, maintaining control of the match with his serve, backhand and strong fundamentals.”

Jenny Chen, Chang’s wife, called on more Taiwanese entrepreneurs to sponsor local athletes so they can better represent Taiwan and win more titles.

Lu made the headlines at last year’s Wimbledon when he knocked out former world No. 1 and tournament fifth seed Andy Roddick of the United States in the fourth round, becoming the first Asian since 1995 to reach the quarterfinals at the world’s most prestigious tennis tournament.

His stellar victory last summer was selected as the biggest upset of the year in 2010 by the Association of Tennis Professionals. (THN)

Write to Kwangyin Liu at kwangyin.liu@mail.gio.gov.tw