David Ferrer retires; Yen-Hsun Lu advances – China Open 2012
Seeded second in this event, David Ferrer from Spain, was forced to retire from the tournament with a virus at the China Open 2012, an ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour 500 Series event held in Beijing, China. As a result, the Taiwanese
contender, Yen-Hsun Lu, secured a spot in the round of 16 on Tuesday.
The world number five, Ferrer was trailing 4-5 in the opening set against Lu when he felt pain, eventually withdrawing from the tournament with a stomach virus. With his decision, the Taiwanese was awarded with a place in the second round at this outdoor
hard court event.
The 30-year-old, who capped highest number of wins with 62 this season, comfortably entered the National Tennis Center. He held his opening serve and levelled the scores at 1-1. Ferrer then drew the first blood in the fifth game and jumped to a 4-2 lead.
However, the illness affected his performance afterwards and he lost the proceeding three games.
Ferrer was unable to continue the match after this and ultimately pulled out from the tournament.
Ranked 64th in the South African Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Lu on the other hand moved a step closer towards his maiden career title. He fired four aces and produced a better first serve share of 73 per cent as compared to his rival’s 57
per cent in this 36-minute marathon. The Taiwanese also acceptably marked 15 out of 22 points on it and spilled fewer double faults as compared to his opponent.
Lu will face off the Spanish contender, Feliciano Lopez, who battled past America’s Ryan Harrison in three sets to set up this encounter.
The top seed, Novak Djokovic, will join Lu in the pre-quarters. He survived a three set thriller against the German qualifier, Michael Berrer, to progress.
The former world number one, Djokovic made quick in-roads after pulling out the opener with a breadstick. Despite stepping off steam in the following set tie-breaker, the 25-year-old cashed in both break chances and sealed the deal with a 6-1, 6-7(3), 6-2
score line in just under two hours.
Djokovic will next face the Argentinean star, Carlos Berlocq.
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