US Open: Wu Yibing and Zhizhen Zhang make history
With Wu Yibing and Zhizhen Zhang, two players from China have reached the main draw at the US Open for the first time.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Aug 27, 2022, 09:36 am
It took a little more than two hours before Wu Yibing was able to enjoy a small piece of sporting history: With the 7: 6 (5) and 6: 2 against Corentin Moutet, Wu was the first man from China to take the place in the main draw of the Qualify US Open. Which, in retrospect, is not entirely surprising: in 2017, Wu Yibing had already won the junior title in New York City.
The now 22-year-old has already won two ATP Challengers this summer in Indianapolis (in the final against up-and-coming Ben Shelton) and Rome and is 178th in the world rankings.
Li Na 2013 in the semifinals
A few minutes later, Zhang Zhizhen followed suit. And he didn't make it that exciting, with the 6: 2 and 6: 4 against Zizou Bergs also threw a Frenchman out of the qualifying tournament.
Zhang is already 25 years old, won the Challenger in the Italian Cordenons this summer, was in the final in Grodzisk Mazowiecki and before that in Trieste.
When it comes to successful performances at the US Open, Li Na has of course set the bar from a Chinese perspective: The two-time major winner (2011 at the French Open and 2014 with her last tournament victory at the Australian Open) won the semifinals in New York City in 2013 reach. Wu Yibing and Zhang Zhizhen will probably have to work longer for that.
Here is the individual tableau at the US Open
nycmap