Nalbandian nailed by Lu

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:15

The number 10 seed was ousted by Taiwan’s Yen-Hsun Lu 6-4 5-7 4-6 6-4 6-2 in an epic battle which lasted five minutes short of four hours.

Nalbandian saved three match points at 5-2 down but could not convert the six break-point chances he had and Lu finally fired a winner down the line to seal a famous win.

Lu’s heroics have earned him a third-round date with 21st seed Tommy Robredo, who beat Viktor Troicki 6-1 6-3 6-0.

Robin Soderling, of Sweden, was another seed to fall by the wayside, losing to crowd favourite and 2006 finalist Marcos Baghdatis.

Philipp Kohlschreiber, the 32nd seed, also made an early exit, losing to the oldest player in the draw, Fabrice Santoro. The 36-year-old’s 5-7 7-5 3-6 7-5 6-3 victory gave him the honour of being the oldest man to win two matches at the Australian Open since 1978.

It also earned him a third-round tie with Andy Roddick, who survived an early scare against Xavier Malisse before rallying to win 4-6 6-2 7-6 (7-1) 6-2.

Earlier in the day defending champion Novak Djokovic and second seed Roger Federer enjoyed trouble-free passages to the third round.

Federer had an easy 6-2 6-3 6-1 win over qualifier Evgeny Korolev, while defending champion Djokovic was a comfortable 7-5 6-1 6-3 winner against Jeremy Chardy.

He will now play Amer Delic after the American came back from two sets down to shock 28th seed Paul-Henri Mathieu 1-6 3-6 6-3 7-6 (7-3) 9-7 in an epic battle while Federer will face Marit Safin who beat Guillermo Garcia-Lopez 7-5 6-2 6-2.

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