Taiwanese tennis player Lu Yen-hsun on Tuesday called his run to the Wimbledon quarter-finals a turning point in his career and said his new target is to reach the world’s top 30.
Lu is in Germany for an intensive 10-day training regimen in Offenbach, a town just outside Frankfurt, with German coach Dirk Hordorff and trainer Bernardo Carberol to prepare for the US hardcourt season, hoping for another standout showing at the final Grand Slam of the season, the US Open.
“My coach has brought me into the top 50. Our new target now is the top 30,” Lu said at a tennis club managed by Hordorff, who is also Lu’s agent.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Lu is currently ranked No. 44 in the world and No. 2 in Asia behind Andrey Golubev (37) of Kazakhstan, according to the rankings of the Association of Tennis Professionals.
The 26-year-old is still grateful to Hordorff for reaching out to him in 2003 when he was struggling with a shoulder injury and had doubts about his future. Early on, Hordorff worked with Lu for free.
“Even if you’re low-ranked or injured, he has the same attitude toward every player, which is to aim for perfection,” Lu said.
Hordorff has confidence in Lu’s tennis skills.
“His conditioning is good. He’s fast, and his returns, groundstrokes and volleys are excellent, almost perfect. What he’s missing is match experience,” he said.
The German coach also commended Lu’s perseverance in fighting through two serious injuries and said that patience could pay off after Lu’s win over Roddick.
“Lu now knows that he can beat the best players in the world, and that will make it easier for him from now on. I believe he still has great promise,” Hordorff said.
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