CNN
,
Wu Yibing created history by beating on Sunday John Isner Became the first man from China to win an ATP title in a thrilling three-set final at the Dallas Open.
The 23-year-old Wu saved four match points before sealing a 6-7(4-7) 7-6(7-3) 7-6(14-12) victory over American Isner, who won 16 titles. Within only three hours.
Prior to reaching the final, no Chinese man had ever reached a tour-level final or defeated a top-10 opponent in the professional era.
The Hangzhou native had already made her mark in the history books by achieving both of those feats, defeating world number eight and top seed Taylor Fritz in the semifinals.
And he continued to set records on Monday when he rose to world No. 58 in the rankings, making him the highest-ranked Chinese player in ATP history.
“I have made history here for my country and my home,” Wu said at the trophy ceremony. “I’m so proud of myself and especially thank you to all the fans and my team that came out here to support me. I couldn’t do this without each of you guys.
The big-serving Isner hit 44 aces in the match that lasted two hours and 59 minutes.
In the final tiebreak, Wu went on serve for 22 consecutive points before forcing Isner to hit a forehand long.
Isner said, “I don’t know how many match points I had, I’m sure it’s a lot.” “I swear I thought I won the match so many times… Sports can be brutal.
“He’s an incredible ball striker and a very good talent.”
Prior to this week, Wu – who had not competed on tour from March 2019 to January 2022 due to injuries – had won only six tour-level matches.
In Dallas, he defeated a series of high caliber players in Michael Mamoh, Denis Shapovalov, Adrian Mannarino, Fritz and Isner.