President Ma Ying-jeou and Premier Wu Den-yih both sent congratulatory messages to Lu Yen-hsun after he defeated fifth seed Andy Roddick of the US in the fourth round of the men’s singles at Wimbledon on Monday to become the first Taiwanese player to make the last eight at the All England Club.
It was the first time Lu had beaten Roddick, who he had played against three times previously.
In Taipei, Lu’s brother Lu Wei-lu said that “me and my mother both cried while embracing each other.”
He also said the match was very significant to the family following the death of his father in 2000.
“Wimbledon was my father’s favorite sporting event and Lu Yen-hsun took his first grand slam win at Wimbledon in 2004,” Lu Wei-lu said.
After the win he and his mother went to the hill where his father is buried to give him the good news.
Lu Yen-hsun had vocal, at times almost hysterical support, during the match, matched by partisan cheers for Roddick, a perennial favorite at the All England Club.
“Today I just take time, serve regular, and stay with him, try to find a chance and to win the set, set by set, set by set, until the end, I’m shaking hands and I win,” he said.
It is a better job than catching chickens to send off for sale and slaughter as his father did. Lu said he helped his father a few times and still had the knack, but: “I don’t really like it because the smell is really bad. But I know is very tough work.”
Lu’s coach, Dirk Hordorff, said: “Sometimes he’s mentally not strong enough. But today he showed he was strong enough.”
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