Yen-Hsun Lu edges past Julien Benneteau into the second round – AEGON International 2012
World number 55, Yen-Hsun Lu of Chinese Taipei, continued with his great form to surprise the French contender, Julien Benneteau, in three sets 6-3, 2-6, 7-6(4) in the opening round at the AEGON International in Eastbourne, England
on Tuesday. The Taiwanese took two hours and 29 minutes to oust his opponent in a marathon match.
Lu made an ideal beginning, claiming opening three games of the match to attain a 3-0 lead. The Taiwanese didn't allow Benneteau to come back into it, triumphing 6-3.
The 28-year-old hit a single ace and made the same the number of double faults in the opening set. He kept his first serve percentage at 76 and captured 20 of the 25 points on them. The right-hander could not perform well on the
second ones, as he lost five of the eight points on them. Lu evaded the only break threat he faced and availed one of the two chances he had.
Benneteau responded in the same manner, as he grabbed the first three games of the second set to move ahead 3-0. Lu struck back in the fifth to shorten the trail to 2-4 but the Frenchman broke him once again to take a 4-2 advantage.
Serving to stay in the set at 2-5, Lu could not hold it and went down 2-6.
Ranked 31st in the world, Benneteau fired three aces and 68 percent of the first deliveries, winning 11 of the 17 points on them. The Frenchman gave an average performance on the second serves, as he won four of the
eight points. The 30-year-old, however, did a splendid job on the second returns, securing 10 of the 14 points on them.
Benneteau was looking strong to finish off the match quickly, as he snatched a break in the second game of the final set to build a 2-0 lead. However, Lu struck back immediately to equal the proceedings at 2-2. Benneteau hit a
blow again in the sixth to move ahead 4-2 but the Taiwanese broke back in the ninth and held his next serve to take the score to 5-5. The set was taken into a tie-breaker, where hit a couple of blows to seal it 7-6(4).
The Taiwanese is drawn to play the world number 53, Ryan Harrison of USA, in the second round. The American came back from one set down to beat Vasek Pospisil of Canada in the opener.
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