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Taiwan's tennis hero Lu eyes top 30 after Wimbledon
2010/07/28 17:50:37 |
Offenbach, Germany, July 27 (CNA) Taiwanese tennis player Lu Yen-hsun on Tuesday called his run to the Wimbledon quarterfinals a turning point in his career and said his new target is to reach the world's top 30.
Lu went further in a grand slam singles event than any Taiwanese player before him after defeating fifth-seeded American Andy Roddick in the fourth round at Wimbledon on June 28.
Prior to that surprising result -- Lu had been only 6-18 in grand slam singles matches before the start of the tournament -- he spent time training in Germany to hone his skills and conditioning.
He is now back 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 United States hardcourt season, hoping for another standout showing at the final grand slam of the season, the U.S. Open.
"My coach has brought me into the top 50. Our new target now is the top 30," Lu told the Central News Agency at a tennis club managed by Hordorff, who is also Lu's agent.
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 (ATP).
The 26-year-old is still grateful to Hordorff for reaching out to him in 2003 when he was still 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."
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.
Lu's Argentine trainer Bernardo Carberol also had high expectations for the Taiwan No. 1.
"He keeps improving. I don't know when he will reach his peak, but I hope he climbs very high," Carberol said. (By Lin Yu-li and Fanny Liu) ENDITEM/ls
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