Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun (盧彥勳) has urged his compatriots to follow his lead and join him in the world’s top 100 after his success in the first week at Wimbledon.
Lu made history when he became the first Taiwanese man to make the fourth round of the singles at a Grand Slam and he hopes the achievement inspires compatriots such as Yang Tsung-hua (楊宗樺) and Chen Ti (陳迪) to carry on.
He will play the US fifth seed Andy Roddick, who beat Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5, 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-3, in the next round tomorrow.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Currently Lu, 82nd in the world, is the only Taiwanese player in the top 300, with Yang ranked 313th and Chen 430th — something the top-ranked star wants to change.
“I had the chance to show the Taiwanese people that I can play good tennis,” Lu said. “I hope my result will pump other people up and show them they can also do it in their area. This is the positive thing for everybody.”
“I am the only one in the top 100, but we have four or five around 200, 300 or 400, but not as many as the women,” he said.
“Yang was No. 1 junior two years ago — we have to give him a little bit of time to get into professional tennis. I hope he can come in to play Grand Slams and play big tournaments,” he said.
Lu’s mobile phone was buzzing with messages of congratulation straight after his third round win over Germany’s Florian Mayer on Friday.
The 26-year-old was two sets up and led 2-1 with a break in the third set when Mayer retired with a leg injury.
The result wrote Lu’s name in the Asian tennis history books and he expressed his pride about putting Taiwanese tennis on the map.
“There is probably a lot of news coming out right now in Taiwan. I am happy to have done it for my country, for my family, for my friends and for all the people that have supported me,” he added.
“But I don’t want them to call me the ‘Pride of Taiwan’ or anything — I am the same as I was before,” he said.
Lu has played three-time Wimbledon finalist Roddick twice this season — in Memphis and Indian Wells — both on hard courts and lost both matches in straight sets.
However, he has learned enough from the two clashes to know what he has got to do to extend his golden run at Wimbledon.
“He is a really difficult player,” Lu said. “He has a big serve and he plays very well from the baseline with his chip charge and puts you under pressure.”
“The main point you have to focus on is to stay with him and wait for your chance. If you have a chance to break him you must take it. That is the tough part and you always have the pressure of having to hold your serve to stay with him,” he said.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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