Taiwan’s Lu Yen-hsun reached the third round at Wimbledon for the first time yesterday by beating Poland’s Michal Przysiezny 6-4, 7-6, 6-3.
Lu’s serve was in good working order as he sent down 21 aces during the two hour, 25 minute-long contest on Court 16. He also hit 60 winners compared with his 93rd-ranked Polish opponent’s 25.
The Taiwanese men’s No. 1 has yet to drop a set at the All England Club this year and yesterday’s win was all the more impressive as his opponent had disposed of 17th seed Ivan Ljubicic in straight sets in the previous round.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The nation’s sole male representative at the tournament beat world No. 42 Horacio Zeballos of Argentina in the first round.
Lu’s previous best-ever Wimbledon performances were second round appearances in 2004 and 2005. Last year he lost in the first round to eventual champion Roger Federer.
Justine Henin advanced to the third round of the women’s singles by beating Germany’s Kristina Barrois 6-3, 7-5.
The seven-time Grand Slam champion was broken twice while serving for the match, but then regrouped and went on to secure victory on a sunlit Court 2.
Henin built up leads of 4-1 in the first set and 5-1 in the second. Serving for the win at 5-2, she double-faulted on consecutive points and lost the game, then lost serve again for 5-all.
But Henin broke back and served out the victory to love. She breathed a sigh of relief after winning the final point.
Fellow Belgian Kim Clijsters also advanced, beating Karolina Sprem 6-3, 6-2. Clijsters and Henin are both back at Wimbledon after coming out of retirement, and they could meet in the fourth round.
No. 13 seed Shahar Peer lost to Angelique Kerber 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 while No. 11 seed Marion Bartoli advanced with a walkover against Petra Martic.
Aside from the wobble at the finish, Henin kept her cool and improved to 7-0 on grass this year. She won the title at Den Bosch, Netherlands last week.
Seeded 17th, the Belgian is playing at Wimbledon for the first time since 2007. She retired in 2008 and rejoined the tour in January.
Against Barrois, Henin won 21 points at the net and hit 38 winners. She is seeking the only major title she has yet to win. She was runner-up at Wimbledon in 2001 and 2006.
Clijsters committed just 13 unforced errors against Sprem and erased the only three break points she faced. The No. 8-seeded Clijsters, who returned from retirement last year, is playing at Wimbledon for the first time since 2006.
She has reached at least the third round at her past 16 Grand Slam tournaments.
Clijsters insisted the match had been harder than it seemed, but she was happy to admit she is starting to dream about winning Wimbledon for the first time.
“The score was a lot easier than it was to play. I had to work extremely hard but I was consistent and that was the most important thing,” she said.
“To win Wimbledon would be a dream come true. It was tempting last year when they offered me a wild card but I just wasn’t quite ready,” Clijsters said.
Australian No. 4 Alicia Molik was beaten 7-5, 6-4 by Hungarian qualifier Greta Arn.
The former world No. 8 missed out on the chance to equal her best-ever Wimbledon performances of 2003 and 2004 by reaching the third round.
Molik, 29, had made it through to the second round by beating Slovakia’s Zuzana Kucova 6-2, 7-5, while Arn had downed Spanish 22nd seed Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez to make it to the second round.
Umbrellas were out yesterday — not for rain, but for shield from the sun on the hottest day of the tournament. The All England Club’s public address announcer advised spectators to make sure they had skin protection, headwear and water.
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