Taiwanese No. 1 Lu Yen-hsun safely negotiated the first round at Wimbledon yesterday on his return to the main tour following elbow surgery.
The Taipei-born 32-year-old advanced with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-4 victory over Russian world No. 179 Alexander Kudryavtsev on Court 10 at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in London.
The Taiwanese world No. 76, who reached the quarter-finals of the third Grand Slam of the year in 2010, saved three of four break points and converted five of eight, firing nine aces and winning 99 of the 167 points contested to advance to a likely second-round clash with world No. 2 Andy Murray, who was due to face fellow Briton Liam Broady on Center Court later yesterday.
Photo: AP
Lu, who was elected to the Association of Tennis Professionals Player Council at the weekend, has been plying his trade in second-tier Challenger tournaments since recovery from surgery, becoming the first player to make it to three consecutive finals earlier this month in the Manchester, Surbiton and Ilkley tournaments in England.
Lu, the runner-up in Manchester, went on to win the titles in Surbiton on June 13 and Ilkley on Sunday last week.
For the Roger Federer fans on Centre Court and the legions watching on televisions around the world, it was a reassuring sight as the Swiss swept past Argentina’s Guido Pella into the second round of Wimbledon on Monday.
Knee surgery and a nagging back injury had restricted the 17-times grand slam champion to 22 matches this season and his no-show at the recent French Open ended a run of 65 consecutive major appearances.
Talk of time finally catching up with Federer has been doing the rounds. So all eyes were on the 34-year-old Swiss great as he stepped onto Centre Court, where he has held the trophy aloft on seven occasions.
However, Federer began his 18th consecutive Wimbledon campaign with a tidy 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 victory that, while never spectacular, was relatively comfortable.
He offered up not a single break point to the 51st-ranked Pella, and while he converted only one of the nine that came his way, he found an extra gear when required.
Federer’s only real moment of alarm came at 5-6, 0-30 in the second set, but he quickly killed the danger and waltzed through the tiebreak to take a two-set lead. With light fading, he made light work of the third set.
Federer’s next appointment is today with British qualifier Marcus Willis, ranked 772nd in the world.
“It is a great, great story and I am very, very excited to be playing him actually. It is the best story in tennis for a while,” Federer told reporters when asked about playing Willis, a tennis coach who survived six rounds of qualifying. “It is going to be a great atmosphere.”
While Federer was more than happy for Willis to take the spotlight after his win over Ricardas Berankis, he was more concerned with his own form and fitness after arriving at Wimbledon without a title in the first six months of the season for the first time since 2000.
“Time heals a lot of problems, a lot of issues,” Federer said. “It is another day, another step in the right direction. It gives me confidence as I hopefully move forward.”
“I have worked as hard as I possibly could since February. My big goal was to not miss Wimbledon, to be here, hopefully at 100 percent. Don’t know yet if I am, but I am definitely here winning in straight sets in my first round against a good player,” he added.
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