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Shock exit for Roddick

Image: Roddick: Shock exit

Andy Roddick suffered the biggest upset of this year's Wimbledon as he was knocked out in the fourth round by Yen-Hsun Lu.

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Third seed overcomes former champion as well as illness

Andy Roddick suffered the biggest upset of this year's Wimbledon as he was knocked out in the fourth round by Yen-Hsun Lu. Three-time Wimbledon finalist and fifth seed Roddick suffered the shock defeat in a marathon eoncuoter with Lu, with the man from Chinese Taipei emerging with a thrilling 4-6 7-6 (7/3) 7-6 (7/4) 6-7 (5/7) 9-7 victory. The world number 82 held his nerve in a five-set thriller on Court Two to win in four hours and 36 minutes. Roddick lost a classic final to Roger Federer last year but could not shake off Lu, who has never previously gone past the second round at Wimbledon. "I thought it was a dream, I could not imagine this moment happening," said Lu, who became the first Asian man to reach the quarter-finals of a grand slam since Japan's Shuzo Matsuoka in 1995. "I thought he served better than he has against me before," Roddick said. "But I had chances and I didn't take advantage of them. "Through three sets I was playing horrendously. Really, really badly, to the point where I was thinking how to put balls on the court. "I think the fifth set was the best I played in terms of hitting the ball. But when you dig yourself a hole it's tough to get out when you've given someone confidence and when they have their feet under them a little bit more. "I don't view what happened today as an impossibility. I don't know. I always struggle with how to describe my mood. I'm sure you can use your intuition and reach out and find something. "He played high risk but he executed very well. He deserved to win more than I did, that's for sure. If I consider myself a contender for this tournament I've got to get through that match."

Novak next

Lu will now play Novak Djokovic after he overcame both former champion Lleyton Hewitt and a stomach problem to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon. The third seed eventually beat the 2002 champion and 15th seed 7-5 6-4 3-6 6-4 on Court One to set up a meeting with either Andy Roddick or Yen-Hsun Lu in the last eight. The first set looked destined for a tie-break until Djokovic broke serve for the first time in the match in the 12th game. Hewitt then fired a stunning winner from wide of the right sideline in the second, the spectacular forehand going around the net post and into the corner to level the set at 2-2. A tie-break again seemed likely until Djokovic converted a break point in the 10th game when his opponent drilled a backhand a foot long. All of a sudden, however, the Serb was struggling physically and at 2-1 ahead in the third he requested a time-out to receive medical help.
Crumbled
Hewitt, who recently beat Roger Federer to win the Wimbledon warm-up event in Halle, improved and Djokovic crumbled slightly, allowing the former to pull a set back. But Djokovic broke back at the start of the fourth set and although Hewitt responded in kind, his opponent hit back with another break in the ninth game. Serving for the match, Djokovic won the game to love and sealed victory with a killer cross-court forehand. "Physically I'm fit, I'm feeling good and everything is fine," Djokovic later said. "The conditions were tough but it was the same for both of us. "I was just struggling a little bit with my stomach, and there was some discomfort there but I managed to overcome that."

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