After a historic run in the Wimbledon Championship in the past week, Taiwanese tennis player Lu Yen-hsun (盧彥勳) said yesterday in Taipei that his next goal would be the upcoming US Open and making it into the top 20 in world rankings.
“Now that I've made it into the top 50, my next goal is to make it into the world's top 20,” Lu said at a press conference following his return on Friday night from London, where the tournament was held.
Lu, who was ranked No. 82, shocked the tennis world when he defeated world No. 7 Andy Roddick of the US during a match in the fourth round of the Wimbledon men's singles on Tuesday.
Lu became the first Taiwanese player ever and the first Asian since 1995 to make the quarter-finals in a Grand Slam tournament before losing to world No. 3 Novak Djokovic on Wednesday.
Despite his later loss to Djokovic, international and Taiwanese media have been showering him with attention since his defeat of Roddick.
Lu said he was “somewhat in awe” of the media coverage. He was mobbed by press and fans as he returned to Taiwan on Friday night. More than two dozen television cameras and about 100 reporters attended the press conference yesterday.
The “newest hero” of Taiwan, as a story on the official Wimbledon Web site wrote, described the win over Roddick as something that “would probably be a career-changing victory for me because now I am convinced that I can compete with the best.”
The confidence-boosting victory, which is expected to raise his world ranking from No. 82 to the top 50, became a catalyst for Lu to set his eyes on the world's top 20. It is also why he has higher expectations for the upcoming US Open, which will take place from Aug. 30 to Sept. 12 in New York.
“I'm always excited whenever I have a chance to meet the top players because it's an opportunity to compete against the best,” Lu said, adding that “as long as you work hard, your dreams will come true one day.”
Under the guidance of German coach Dirk Hordoff, Lu hopes that he will add another 200 points over the summer to help him earn a US Open seed in the men's singles. He is also considering focusing on the singles competition in New York, rather than playing both singles and doubles, which some analysts said was too much of a burden and played a role in his loss to Djokovic.
Off the court, Lu, 26, is planning a year-end wedding, a “goal” he declined to elaborate on. Lu said he was surprised to know that his wedding plans were published by the media. He plans to wed his long-time girlfriend, who is the daughter of Control Yuan member Chien Lin Whei-jun (錢林慧君), in December.
Lu's win also resulted in a heated public and political debate in Taiwan over the lack of government support for elite athletes like Lu, who has had difficulties funding travel to tournaments since he turned professional in 2000.
Lu entered the men's tennis tournament in the 2008 Beijing Olympics as the only player without a coach and a trainer before posting one of the major wins of his career when he defeated Britain's then-world top 10 Andy Murray in the first round.
Lu played down the “controversy” in the press conference yesterday, but acknowledged that he spent much of his time off-court looking for cheap airline tickets, hotels and calculating when was the best time to hire coaches and trainers “so I can save money.”
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