Lu Yen-hsun made tennis history June 28 by winning his fourth-round match at Wimbledon to become the first Taiwan player ever to reach the singles quarterfinals at the grand slam event.
Lu defeated No. 5-seeded Andy Roddick of the United States 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-7 (7), 9-7 in a marathon match that lasted 4 hours and 36 minutes.
His victory also marked the first time that an Asian player has reached the last eight at the Wimbledon tournament since 1995.
The 26-year-old Lu, who now ranks 82nd in the world, had met and lost to Roddick on three previous occasions in his career, but he showed no signs of fear in his first grand slam showdown with Roddick, recording 22 aces and 83 winners, and winning on 81 percent of his first serves.
“I knew from the outset of the match that this was going to be a long one,” Lu said afterwards. “Every time I got behind in the match, I told myself to calm down. And when it was tied 2-2 after four sets, I told myself to hang in there to the end.”
Luckily for Lu, he listened to his inner voice and was able to pull out the last set in 16 grueling games to end up on top.
Upon winning the match, a jubilant Lu pointed to the sky in a gesture to his deceased father as if to let him know of his victory on the court. Although Lu said he felt a little sad that his dad had not lived long enough to share the joy of this success with him, Lu’s girlfriend was on hand to cheer him on and broke into loud applause along with the thousands of other excited spectators at the moment of his triumph.
“I’m so happy about my best showing ever at a grand slam tournament,” Lu told reporters after the match.
ROC President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu Den-yih both sent telegrams to Lu congratulating him on writing a new page in Taiwan’s tennis history.
Lu will now go on to face third-seeded Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals. If Lu is able to defeat the Serbian, he will mark another milestone by becoming the first ever Asian player to reach the singles semifinals at Wimbledon. (SB)
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