Roddick stunned by unseeded player from Taiwan

WIMBLEDON, England - Andy Roddick's mood was subdued, his words curt.

Once again, he's leaving Wimbledon without the champion's trophy. But this time Roddick heads home much earlier than a year ago - and after being beaten by a much less accomplished opponent.

The No. 5-seeded American erased an early deficit to even his fourth-round match against 82nd-ranked Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan yesterday, then got broken for the only time all day in the very last game and lost, 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 9-7, despite hitting 38 aces.

"It never gets easier," said Roddick, a three-time runner-up at Wimbledon. "Of course I'm going to be -- off when I wake up tomorrow. I mean, if you got fired from your job, you probably wouldn't wake up the next day in a great mood."

This one sure looked like a mismatch going in, and not only because Roddick won all three previous meetings in straight sets.

Roddick, is a former No. 1 who won the 2003 U.S. Open and played in four other major finals, losing each to Roger Federer, including 16-14 in the fifth set at the All England Club last year.

And Lu? The guy arrived last week with a 6-18 career record in majors, including five consecutive first-round exits. He lost in Wimbledon's first round the previous four years. So even he had doubts as the match stretched beyond 41/2 hours.

"Fifth set, I don't believe I can win, because he's [a] better server than me," Lu said. "But I just tell myself, 'Even [if] I don't believe, I have to fight.' "

He pointed to the sky after ending the match with a forehand passing shot, dedicating the victory to his late father, a chicken farmer who died in 2000.

Lu's coach, Dirk Hordorff, said: "Sometimes he's mentally not strong enough. But today he showed he was strong enough."

With the temperature moving into the 80s and a cloudless sky, previous Wimbledon champions Federer, Rafael Nadal, Venus Williams and Serena Williams each won in straight sets.

"A wonderful day for the fans," said Federer, who beat No. 16 Jurgen Melzer in the main stadium, then observed, "Obviously, I know every corner of this Centre Court. It helps."

Serena Williams pounded 19 aces in her 7-6 (9), 6-4 victory over 2004 champion Maria Sharapova.

"I had a few looks at her serve," Sharapova said, "but even when you had a good look, and the ball's coming at you in the 120s [mph], it's pretty tough to do much with it."

In a matchup between former No. 1s and Grand Slam champions from Belgium who recently came out of retirement, No. 8 Kim Clijsters beat No. 17 Justine Henin, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3. Henin slid and tumbled to the grass in the match's third game, jarring her right elbow, and wasn't the same the rest of the way.

Third-seeded Novak Djokovic beat Lleyton Hewitt, 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 6-4, and No. 4 Andy Murray defeated No. 18 Sam Querrey, 7-5, 6-3, 6-4.

Lu's victory over Roddick was yesterday's most significant surprise, by far, but it wasn't the only one.

The 62nd-ranked Petra Kvitova knocked off No. 3 Caroline Wozniacki, last year's U.S. Open runner-up, 6-2, 6-0, and No. 82 Tsvetana Pironkova eliminated No. 11 Marion Bartoli, the 2007 Wimbledon runner-up, 6-4, 6-4.