Wu Yibing on Sunday became the first man from China to win an ATP title, as he held off home hero John Isner 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/3), 7-6 (14/12) in a thrilling final to claim the Dallas Open.
China’s men have barely made an impression in tennis’ elite circuit, but 23-year-old Wu’s breakthrough could inspire generations to come in the country.
Before this week, no Chinese man had ever reached a tour-level final in the professional era or defeated a top 10 opponent.
Photo: AP
Wu, from the eastern city of Hangzhou, has done both, having upset American world No. 8 Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals in Texas.
“I made history here for my country and for my home,” Wu said at the trophy ceremony.
“I’m very proud of myself and especially thanks to all the fans and my team who came here to support,” he said. “I couldn’t do this without any of you guys.”
Against Isner, a hardened tour professional with 16 titles and one of the game’s most feared serves, Wu had to earn the right to make history.
Isner hammered 44 aces and held match point, as Wu served to stay in the second set at 6-5.
After 22 consecutive points went with serve in the final tiebreak, Wu forced Isner to push the ball long, claiming the match a minute short of three hours.
“I don’t know how many match points I had, I’m sure it’s a lot,” Isner said.
“I swear I thought I won the match a few times... Sports can be brutal,” he said. “He is an unbelievable ballstriker and a very good talent.”
On Monday, Wu became the second Chinese man to crack the world top 100 and is projected to rise to No. 58.
Although showing promise as a junior, Wu has had to be patient through a run of injuries that saw him drop off all tennis circuits in 2020-2021.
Ranked outside the top 1,000 in April last year, Wu qualified for the US Open and won two main draw matches, becoming the first Chinese man to reach the third round of a Grand Slam since 1938.
China’s women have had far more success in elite tennis, with the retired Li Na becoming the country’s first Grand Slam singles winner at Roland Garros in 2011. She added another major title at the Australian Open in 2014.
A new generation of men’s players are starting to make their mark, including world No. 92 Zhang Zhizhen and 18-year-old Shang Juncheng, who became the first Chinese man in the professional era to win a main draw match at last month’s Australian Open.
Taiwanese women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Australian teenager Maya Joint on Tuesday eased into the Eastbourne Open quarter-finals in England as Hsieh prepares for the Wimbledon Championships next week. Four-time Wimbledon women’s doubles champion Hsieh and 19-year-old Joint fired two aces and converted five of eight break points to defeat Japan’s Shuko Aoyama and Poland’s Katarzyna Piter 6-3, 6-3 in 58 minutes on the grass court. Hsieh and Joint are today to face fourth seeds Barbora Krejcikova of the Czech Republic and Latvia’s Jelena Ostapenko, who advanced on Monday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Quinn Gleason of the US and
BEAT THE HEAT: A brutal heat wave in the US has made cooling breaks standard. Dortmund’s coach said the weather could shape the destiny of the tournament Chelsea on Tuesday beat Esperance of Tunisia 3-0 to set up a FIFA Club World Cup last-16 tie against SL Benfica, who earlier defeated Bayern Munich 1-0, as furnace-link heat and the threat of thunder and lightning wreak havoc at the tournament. Elsewhere, minnows Auckland City claimed a memorable draw against Boca Juniors, while Los Angeles bowed out of the tournament with a stalemate against Flamengo. In Charlotte, Andreas Schjelderup scored the only goal for Benfica in their Group C clash with Bayern in front of 33,287 fans, finishing first-time from a cutback by his fellow Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes in the 13th
REUNION: Former Barcelona players Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Miami coach Javier Mascherano are to face their former coach Luis Enrique Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi faces a tantalizing reunion with former club Paris Saint-Germain in the FIFA Club World Cup last 16 after both sides on Monday progressed to the knockout phase. Miami drew 2-2 with Palmeiras to go through second in Group A, after the Brazilian side fought back from two goals down to seal top spot. They now face an all-Brazil clash against Botafogo, who lost 1-0 to Atletico Madrid, but progressed from Group B in second at the expense of the Spaniards. Champions of Europe PSG won the group with a 2-0 victory over Seattle Sounders, paving the
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
RSS