Taiwanese tennis player Lu Yen-hsun said on Friday that he doesn’t expect a foot injury to affect his performance at upcoming tournaments in the US.
Lu arrived in Washington on Friday afternoon for the Legg Mason Tennis Classic, a late-summer tournament on the ATP Tour.
Prior to that, he was in Germany for an intensive 10-day training regimen in Offenbach, just outside Frankfurt. Lu’s official Web site said that while training he experienced tendinitis of the sole.
PROBLEMATIC FEET
Lu said the problem was probably because his feet were not able to adapt to the heavy training very well, particularly right after a rest period, but he still expressed hope that he can play well at the Legg Mason Classic.
“It’s been a while since I played a formal match. The most important thing for me right now is to get back into the match-playing mindset,” said Lu, who will play his first game at the Legg Mason tomorrow.
Lu said his main focus was still the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the season to be held at the end of the month in New York. He said he hoped to use the Legg Mason as a warm-up.
“I may need a few matches to adapt and get back to my previous level,” the 26-year-old said.
FACING FALLA
In his first match tomorrow, Lu, currently ranked No. 44 in the world, will meet Alejandro Falla (No. 65) of Colombia. If he wins, he will face Australia’s Lleyton Hewitt (world No. 30), seeded 11th in the tournament.
Lu said that although his German coach Dirk Hordorff would not be in the US for the tournament, his athletic trainer would fly from Taiwan to help treat his feet.
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