Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun defeated Marius Copil of Romania 7-6 (7/5), 5-7, 6-3 in qualifying for the Rogers Cup in Toronto and seized a spot in the main singles draw.
Copil, the world No. 279, put up a tough fight against top 50 player Lu, keeping the spectators on the edge of their seats.
Lu had a bit of trouble taking Copil’s fast serves at the beginning of the match, which was interrupted by rain, and it took him some time to figure them out and find a way to beat his opponent.
Copil’s coach, Radu Popescu, marveled at Lu’s serving.
“Lu started the game with serves of only 190kph, but when it came to the third set, usually exhausting for other players, Lu still managed serves of up to 205kph. That’s amazing,” Popescu said.
Lu said later that he knew the third set was crucial and he had to pull out all the stops to go for the win against such a powerful adversary.
Taiwanese expatriates among the spectators also encouraged Lu by holding giant Republic of China flags.
On the first day of qualifying, Lu defeated Ilia Bozoljac of Serbia 6-2, 6-3. He won 84 percent of his first serves and four out of nine break-points.
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