First tournament winner in Open Era: Chinese Wu Yibing writes tennis history

Wu Yibing becomes the first Chinese tennis pro to win an ATP tournament in the Open Era (since 1968).

First tournament winner in Open Era: Chinese Wu Yibing writes tennis history

Wu Yibing becomes the first Chinese tennis pro to win an ATP tournament in the Open Era (since 1968). The 23-year-old prevailed in the final in Dallas in a crazy tie-break thriller after around three hours against the American John Isner. Even getting into the final was historic.

Wu Yibing was the first Chinese tennis pro ever to win a tournament on the ATP Tour in the Open Era (since 1968). The 23-year-old defeated the American John Isner in the final of the indoor event in Dallas on Sunday after a wild tie-break thriller 6: 7 (4: 7), 7: 6 (7: 3), 7: 6 (14: 12). The world number 97. Wu was the first Chinese to reach the final of an ATP tournament in Texas.

In the final he fended off four match points against the immensely powerful Isner and kept his nerve in the tie-break of the decisive set after a total of almost three hours of play. The 23-year-old was unable to play any games on the ATP tour from March 2019 to January 2022 due to injuries.

Previously, Wu had already knocked out the higher rated Denis Shapovalov (Canada/No.3) and Adrian Mannarino (France/No.8). With his triumph in Texas, the Asian will move up to 57th in the world rankings on Monday. This is a personal best for him. Despite being eliminated in the semi-finals, Fritz is in seventh place in the ranking for the first time.