ATP Dallas: Yibing Wu makes history in insane tiebreak drama
Yibing Wu is the first Chinese player to win a tournament on the ATP Tour in the Open Era. The 23-year-old prevailed against local hero John Isner in a thrilling tie-break drama.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit:
Feb 12, 2023, 11:18 pm
A final couldn't be much more gripping: Yibing Wu fended off four match points late on Sunday evening (CET) to finally win 6:7 (4), 7:6 (3) and 7:6 (12) against the serve giant John Isner at his home event.
Isner had already found his first match point in section two when Wu served, the Chinese defended safely. In the tie-break, the 23-year-old was in top form and sent the hard-fought, serve-heavy match into a deciding set.
Strong nerves
In this, Isner remained incredibly safe with his serve: ace after ace struck on the side of Wu, who also saved himself through a few tight moments in round three and sent the match into another, third tie-break that evening.
In this, high tension was finally announced: First, Isner worked out three more chances to close the match. Wu had the opportunity several times himself, but missed - once even on his own serve. But then, when the score was 13:12, the Chinese made a strong return and Isner made a forehand error, which ultimately sealed the three-set success.
For Wu it is the first title at ATP level and for all of tennis China it is extremely historic, as it is the first triumph of a Chinese in the Open Era. In the live ranking, the 23-year-old is ranked 58th in the ATP charts, thanks to the win Wu went up almost 40 places.