Wu-hoo! Chinese player cracks ATP trophy code

Wu Yibing broke through for the first ATP title in history from a Chinese player as the 23-year-old held off 44 aces, defeating John Isner 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 7-6(12) to claim the ATP Dallas title.

Wu on Monday rose to an unprecedented 58th in the rankings – only the second from  China to reach the Top 100.

The outsider out-duelled local veteran John Isner, who was unable to prevail as usual in a tiebreak duel which lasted for three hours.

“I made history here for my country and for my home,” the winner said.

“I’m very proud of myself and especially thanks to all the fans and my team who came here to support. I couldn’t do this without any of you guys.”

Wu saved an Isner match point in the second set and three more in the dramatic final-set tiebreaker.

“It’s a tough one to lose,” Isner, now 16-15 in Tour finals, 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 a few times. 

“I know he hit one ball… It had to be [on] the back sixteenth of the line on one of the points… Sports can be brutal. I had match point in the second set too.”

The travel-shy American who prefers to stay close to home when possible, added: 

“It’s like he plays every point the same, so definitely no nerves. He gets a ball to hit, he hits it.

“It’s hard to hit a shot he is uncomfortable with… He is an unbelievable ball striker and a very good talent.”

Wu finished with 41 winners in a match without a service break.

Wu dealt with injuries from March, 2019 to January, 2022 when he started a modest comeback.

His run in Dallas included upsets third seed Denis Shapovalov and top seeded Taylor Fritz.

Main photo Wu-Yibing poses in Dallas – ATPTour.com