Taipei, April 23 (CNA) Taiwan's top tennis player Lu Yen-hsun (盧彦勳) beat Tatsuma Ito from Japan 6-1, 7-6 (4) on Sunday to win the men's singles title at the 2017 Santaizi ATP Challenger event, securing his 27th win on the ATP Challenger tour. The world No. 63 Lu broke Ito three straight times early in the match to take the first set comfortably, but he had a much tougher battle against the world No. 212 Ito in the second set, which went to a tiebreaker. Lu fell behind 4-2 in the tiebreaker before running off the next five points to clinch the set and the match.
"I want to thank all businesses, friends, and everyone who supports this sport because without that, all kinds of sports are actually a disadvantaged minority," Lu said during the award ceremony. "It takes your support so that the sport could thrive," he said.The 33-year-old Taiwanese veteran has won more ATP Challenger titles than any other player in history. Lu said he was happy to see so many fans come to cheer for him, adding that he felt he had been playing well during the tournament, being able to find form to regain control in some of the challenging games.
Asked how he felt about winning his 27th ATP Challenger in Taiwan, Lu said each title is significant and he has the same mindset in every match -- which is to win -- no matter how big the event. Still, Lu said it means a lot to him to win the championship in Taiwan because he has not had many opportunities to play in his home country and enjoyed support from local fans.
