Tennis
Simon struggles past Lu
2011-09-28 20:14
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Bangkok - Gilles Simon of France needed nearly three hours to edge out Taiwan's Lu Yen-hsun 6-7 (4/7), 7-5, 6-4 in his opening match at the Thailand Open Wednesday.
"I was down a set and a break and he had points for 5-2," said third seed Simon, who is now through to the quarter-finals.
"It was an amazing match. His level was really high and I had the feeling that I was also playing well."
The match went down to the wire as Simon, the world No 12, earned a break to go 5-4 up before serving out the victory against a player ranked 56 places below him.
"I knew I had to play the maximum on every point against him," said the Frenchman.
"I was almost on the plane back home at one point, I'm very happy to win this match."
The number one and two seeds, Andy Murray and Gael Monfils, who have byes to the second round, are due to play their first matches on Thursday.
Simon, who won the title in 2009, will next play German Matthias Bachinger, who beat Danai Udomchoke 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
Udomchoke, on home soil, received a good luck blessing from a Buddhist monk a week ago, but it was not enough to stop the 30-year-old crashing out.
He said he would use any advantage he could, although he admitted his tennis fate was always in his own hands.
"It takes more than that. The spell is something good for the mind but it still comes down to physical fitness and hard work," said the player, who has been dealing with a recent shoulder injury.
"I've prepared really well for three weeks because this could be my last Thailand Open. I want to retire next year and don't know if I can last the whole (2012) season."
Germany's Tobias Kamke upset eighth seed Pablo Andujar from Spain with a 6-0, 6-1 drubbing.
Kamke, ranked 103 in the world, next plays Japan's Go Soeda, a comeback winner over Slovak Karol Beck 3-6, 7-6 (7/0), 7-6 (7/4).