大滿貫溫布敦的焦點始終在單打，大會第七天的「超級星期一」一口氣進行男女單打16強的16場比賽，所有名將都上場，總是球迷認為最精彩的一天；沒有人注意(羅迪克)的對手，但(盧彥勳)卻搶走了所有的風采，讓國外媒體發現了這位有優雅氣質跟無敵決心的台灣網球一哥。

    27號的超級星期一有太多名將賽事，小威廉絲直落二淘汰莎拉波娃，比利時內戰克莉絲特絲毀滅了艾寧封后的希望，喬科維奇擊敗休威特，納達爾、費德勒也都晉級，羅迪克這一場比賽被安排在第二球場，原本並不是媒體關注的焦點。

    由於羅迪克過去三度在溫布敦打進決賽，也是最有機會封王的美國球員，ESPN全程轉播比賽，美國主播開始還不太熟悉羅迪克的對手來自台灣；但沒想到一個從來沒有打過溫布敦第三輪以後比賽的非種子球員盧彥勳，卻搶走了所有的風采，羅迪克的發球依舊威猛，但底線抽球太保守，上網猶豫不決，回發球也不夠水準，似乎總是等著盧彥勳失誤而不是主動出擊，最後盧彥勳讓羅迪克踢到大鐵板，也贏得了國外媒體的讚賞。

    美國雅虎專欄提到，並沒有太多世界排名82的球員可以在被大滿貫賽的衛冕亞軍追平盤數以後重整旗鼓，但盧彥勳從來沒有動搖過。這一場是盧彥勳的勝利，而不是羅迪克的失敗。

Taiwan's Lu Yen-Hsun, left, shakes hands with Andy Roddick after beating the favored American in five sets at Wimbledon on Monday. (Ian Kingston / AFP/Getty Images / June 28, 2010)

Andy Roddick has no answers in loss to Yen-Hsun Lu

The American calls his play 'horrendous' in first three sets as Taiwanese opponent beats him, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 9-7. Serena Williams defeats Maria Sharapova on busy day at Wimbledon.

Reporting from Wimbledon, England — Andy Roddick never did figure it out.

The big serve that kept kicking up chalk dust, the cruelly low-bouncing groundstrokes, the slippery volleys that would skid past a lunging Roddick — all of it just too perplexing until the three-time Wimbledon finalist who was seeded fifth here trudged off Court 2 with a soggy towel draped around his slumped shoulders.

Yen-Hsun Lu, a 26-year-old son of a chicken salesman from Taiwan who said he had no family in the crowd and who gave himself little hope after the fourth set, achieved a career best, beating Roddick, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 9-7, Monday in the fourth round.

With the exit also of 18th-seeded Sam Querrey, who lost more predictably to fourth-seeded Andy Murray of Scotland 7-5, 6-3, 6-4, there are, for the fourth time in the last 10 years, no American men in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

For the women, it's a different story.

Top-seeded and defending champion Serena Williams prevailed in a compelling first-set tiebreak and overpowered 16th-seeded Maria Sharapova, 7-6 (9), 6-4, while Venus Williams, five-time Wimbledon champion and seeded No. 2, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 7-6 (5) win over Jarmila Groth.

Also into the quarterfinals is eighth-seeded Kim Clijsters, who beat 17th-seeded Justine Henin, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.

In the other major upset of the day, Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic steamrolled third-seeded Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark, 6-2, 6-0.

But it was the emotional Lu who may have made the biggest impact on a busy day in which all 16 men and 16 women still in the tournament played fourth-round matches.

"I couldn't imagine this moment," Lu said. "And from when I lost the fourth set, I thought it was a better chance for him. Right now, I didn't think this could happen."

The 27-year-old Roddick hadn't lost to Lu in three previous meetings. In his life, Roddick is 115-37 in Grand Slam matches; Lu is 10-18. On grass Roddick is 73-17; Lu is 12-17.

The historical numbers said Roddick would be the one to step up in the fifth set, to conquer whatever it was about Lu's serve that had kept him befuddled, to put into play his experience, to let himself be fueled by the crowd that kept yelling, "Come on Andy." But Lu allowed none of that to happen.

And it wasn't only from Lu that Roddick took a beating.

Acting as a BBC analyst, John McEnroe shook his head and said, "He played so passively, so tentatively. That's going to be a really tough one to overcome." Fellow analyst Lindsay Davenport agreed. "It's so disappointing for Andy," she said. "He just didn't play the right way; he needed to be more aggressive. I think it's going to take him a long time to get over this one."

Thirty minutes after his victory, Lu still seemed in shock.

"I tell you," Lu said, "fifth set, I don't believe I can win because he's a better server than me. But I just tell myself that even if I don't believe, I have to fight."

Roddick called his play "horrendous" in the first three sets and said if he knew why, "I probably would have figured it out, right? It didn't feel good. It didn't feel clean."

Serena Williams had no such complaints about her game, not after 19 aces and 31 winners.

"I served well today," Williams said. "She returned really well and it forced me to serve well."

Sharapova agreed. "If it was not for her great serving," Sharapova said, "I had a real good look at winning the match."

 

Roddick falls foul of Lu as Federer stays cool

 

(Reuters) - Sweat seeping from his baseball cap after four hours scratching for his game on a dusty baseline, Andy Roddick became Wimbledon's biggest casualty on Monday when he lost to the son of a Taiwanese chicken farmer.

Sports

Just as it seemed the serious contenders for the titles had survived the most hectic day on the grand slam calendar, last year's runner-up was cut down by Lu Yen-hsun whose previous four Wimbledon appearances ended in first-round defeats.

Lu thoroughly deserved his 4-6 7-6 7-6 6-7 9-7 fourth-round victory to become the first Asian man to reach a grand slam quarter-final since Japan's Shuzo Matsuoka's run at the All England Club in 1995.

"I'm really proud of myself to share this victory with my dad who is in the sky," Lu, whose father died 10 years ago, told reporters. "I hope he saw this match. When I won I just sat there and said I did this for my father."

While Roddick's tournament came to an abrupt end on a day of withering heat, defending men's champion Roger Federer was the epitome of cool as the Swiss glided past old pal Juergen Melzer into the quarter-finals.

ROCKY RIDE

"This is not hot," Federer shrugged after treating a slowly roasting Center Court crowd to an 84-minute masterclass as temperatures shot into the high 80s. "This was a one shirt-change kind of match."

Top seed Rafael Nadal, who like Federer has endured a rocky ride so far, also conserved some energy for his impending battle with Robin Soderling with an easy victory against Paul-Henri Mathieu while Andy Murray gave British sports fans a lift as he outclassed dangerous American Sam Querrey.

Murray, bidding to become the first British man to win Wimbledon since 1936, will face Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last eight after he beat fellow Frenchman Julien Benneteau.

Nadal will be wary of Soderling's explosive game in the quarter-finals and may have hoped to be playing compatriot David Ferrer in the last eight instead. Ferrer pushed Soderling to the limit before losing in five sets.

Novak Djokovic beat Lleyton Hewitt in four sets to set up a meeting with Lu while Tomas Berdych is Federer's quarter-final obstacle after beating Germany's Daniel Brands.

Second Monday at Wimbledon is traditionally the day that the big guns move into position.

Women's favourites Serena and Venus Williams churned on inexorably toward contesting yet another women's singles final but the third, fourth and seventh seeds in the women's draw were all heading home after limp exits.

Denmark's Caroline Wozniacki was humiliated 6-2 6-0 by Petra Kvitova of the Czech Republic, Serbia's Jelena Jankovic quit, citing back trouble, when trailing 6-1 3-0 against Russian Vera Zvonareva while Poland's Agnieszka Radwanska managed just five games against China's Li Na.

'Hell-cat'

World number one Serena Williams may well have played her toughest match already en route to the final.

She saved three set points and needed the help of 19 aces before subduing Maria Sharapova 7-6 6-4 in repeat of 2004 final and now faces Li with a possible semi-final against either unseeded Kvitova or Estonian qualifier Kaia Kanepi who, like both Williams sisters, is yet to drop a set.

Five-times champion Venus scrapped like a "hell-cat" according to her father Richard to resist Australia's Jarmila Groth in on the bowl-like furnace of Court Two after arriving for the match 10 minutes late.

Williams, who blamed her tardiness on a mix-up with her security escort, broke in the 10th game to take the first set but Groth, the lowest ranked woman to reach the last 16, twice served for the second set before succumbing 6-4 7-6.

Venus faces a looming danger in the semi-final after Kim Clijsters beat Justine Henin in the 25th Battle of the Belgians.

Eighth seed Clijsters, thriving on her return to the All England Club after a four-year absence in which she gave birth to daughter Jada, was given the run-around early on before the 27-year-old recovered to win 2-6 6-2 6-3 and move forward to a quarter-final against Zvonareva.

Henin, also back at Wimbledon after a retirement U-turn, was troubled by a wrist injury after a fall.

Djokovic overcame typically tenacious resistance from 2002 champion Lleyton Hewitt, the third seeded Serb winning 7-5 6-4 3-6 6-4 despite needing tablets when he began to feel sick mid-match, and will now face Roddick's conqueror Lu.

Roddick's previous defeat at Wimbledon was his cliffhanger in last year's final against Roger Federer when he went down 16-14 in an unforgettable fifth set but on Monday he failed to solve the puzzle provided by the 82nd-ranked Lu.

The fifth seed never looked comfortable on Court Two against th 26-year-old whose previous highlights had been a victory over Murray at the Beijing Olympics and a Center Court appearance last year against Federer.

After spurning a chance to finish Roddick in the fourth set, Lu held his nerve magnificently in the deciding set and pounced in the 16th game to complete a sensational victory with a forehand winner.

"When you dig yourself a hole, it's tough to get out," the 27-year-old Roddick, three-times a runner-up to Federer, told reporters.

"He played high risk, but he executed very well. he had a game plan, he stuck to it, and he deserved to win more than I did."

Federer, who a week ago came within three points of an astonishing first-round defeat by Colombia's Alejandro Falla and also struggled in round two, has found his A-game just in time and the swagger was back on Monday.

Just a shame for Melzer that he was the victim in his first career meeting with the Swiss.

Apart from a brief moment early in the first set when he replied to having his service broken with a break of his own the surprise French Open semi-finalist was shown no mercy and was completely outclassed.

"He said straight after that he hopes he does not have to wait 10 years to play me again," said Federer. "He's a guy I know well, he's a good friend of mine and I know him too well to play tricks against him."

Berdych, the 12th seed, beat Brands 4-6 7-6 7-5 6-3 while in the bottom half of the draw Tsonga eased through against Benneteau 6-1 6-4 3-6 6-1.