Chicken farming's loss, then, is tennis's gain. After Yen-Hsun Lu had caused
the biggest upset of the 2010 Wimbledon championships, knocking out Andy
Roddick, last year's finalist, 9-7 in the fifth set, he spoke not of dreams
coming true or of dreams yet to be realised. No, he spoke of chickens. He can
catch them, you know.
It seems that Mr Lu is a man of many talents. From the relatively lowly
ranking position of the world's No.82, he outplayed Roddick for more than 4 ½
hours. Despite never having got beyond the third round in a major
championship before, he played like a seasoned Grand Slam veteran.
It was a match he never believed he could win, but it was one he always knew
he would fight for. And fight he did.
"I still thinking when I was going to the final set, I just tell myself, I
have to fight," he said. "Because I know in the fifth set, there is no
tie-break, and he has a better serve. So I just tell myself, 'if I can stay
longer, longer, longer, then probably something happens'. And finally then I
waited [for a] last chance to close the match.
"But I tell you, fifth set, I don't believe I can win because he's better
server than me. But I just tell myself, even if I don't believe, I have to
fight."
But when it was over, he was briefly downcast. Proud, but still sad. He had
started playing tennis 18 years ago when he and his father decided to learn
together. Although not a coach, Lu's father still guided his son's career and
supported him through thick and thin, advising him and helping him until he
turned professional in 2000. But that same year, Mr Lu senior died and so
never saw what his son could go on to achieve. And beating Roddick was the
greatest achievement to date.
"I'm really upset because my father's already passed away," Lu said. "I make
this result. I'm really proud of myself to share this victory with him [his
father] in the sky. I hope he sees this match.
"So, in that moment, I just sit and tell myself, I done it. I done it for my
father. I done it for myself also. I done it for all the people support me.
I'm just upset that I done it, and he wasn't with me. That's why I'm just
very sad about this. But today I think he's here and he is also very happy
for me."
His family would be hugely proud if he were to beat Novak Djokovic in the
next round, too. Lu has no idea what will happen on Wednesday but he does
know that he will give it everything he has got. Well, it worked against
Roddick, after all.
"I know the next opponent is Djokovic," he said, quietly. "Also is very great
player. I don't know how far I can play. I cannot tell you. But I can tell
you if I have a chance to step on the court, I will fight in the end."
But back to the chickens. Lu's father had worked in the live chicken
business, supplying the birds to butchers and food outlets. As a young man,
Lu had helped out his father but decided it was not a job for him, even if he
did learn a few of the tricks of the trade.
"I can catch a chicken," he said with a huge smile. "I can show you. Yeah,
serious. I can catch a chicken. I don't really like because smell really bad.
But I know it is very tough work. They are always working between 1am to 6am,
like very early. That time the chicken cannot run away because they cannot
see."
Fortunately for Wimbledon, Lu soon decided that tennis was a much better way
to make a living and now, although he is 26, he is getting better with every
year. Last season he spent a couple of months working with Mark Woodforde,
one half of the Woodies doubles partnership, and that helped his volleying.
This year, he hired an Argentine fitness coach to prepare for his trip to
Europe.
From: http://ppt.cc/;4ax
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