Wimbledon: Lulu Sun basks in the limelight

Unheralded Kiwi pro puts Raducanu in the shade
LONDON: The United Nations might've found itself a new poster girl in Lulu Sun. The 23-year-old, born Lulu Radovcic - in Te Anau, a town on New Zealand's South Island - to a Chinese mother and Croatian father, was raised in Switzerland from the age of five. Her German-English stepfather hails from Devon.Sun went to college at the University of Texas and now divides her time between Florida and Slovakia, the home country of her coach, Vladimir Platenik.
The left-hander, who stands at 5'8'' in her tennis shoes, enjoyed her coming out party on the lawns of Wimbledon.
Sun, who speaks three languages - English, French and Chinese - started The Championships in the qualifying competition and late on Sunday, became the first woman representing New Zea land (having changed her nationality from Swiss earlier this year) to make the Wimbledon quarterfinals.
The tall pro, playing Wimbledon at her career-best ranking of 123, beat Emma Raducanu 6-2, 5-7, 6-2 in the fourth round late on Sunday. Sun, going for broke, peppered the court with 52 winners (26 from the forehand side), she also had 17 unforced errors on her stronger flank. Sun, who has jumped 70 spots to No. 53 in the live ranking, courtesy her run at SW19, will take home GBP 375,000 for making the last eight here, already more than her career total. She next plays Croat Donna Vekic, the world No. 37, also in her first Wimbledon quarterfinals, on Tuesday.
Sun, who enjoyed a fair reception on Centre Court playing Raducanu, had earlier spoken about her background - a patchwork of different cultures, which gave her an understanding of a wider world.
"It was definitely difficult because I grew up a little bit in New Zealand. I was born there. My family is still there. I grew up in Switzerland as well. Both countries are dear to me," Sun said about her decision to represent New Zealand. "It wasn't an easy decision because it never is when you have to choose between two things."