Wu Yibing becomes first Chinese man to reach the US Open third round since 1881 | CNN
CNN
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At every stage of this year US OpenWu Yibing has made history.
No Chinese man had ever reached its main draw. US Open Until both Wu and his compatriot Zhang Zizhen qualified for the Open Era. This year’s tournament Previous Week.
Wu then became the first Chinese player to win a singles match at any Grand Slam for 63 years with a 6–3 6–4 6–0 victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round.
The 22-year-old also became the first Chinese player since 1881 to beat fellow qualifier Nuno Borges 6-7 (3) 7-6 (4) 4-6 6-4 6-4 in a four-hour thriller on Wednesday. gone. to reach the third round where he will face world No. 1 and defending champion Daniil Medvedev on Friday.
The last Chinese man to reach the third round of any Grand Slam was Khoo Sen-Khi at Wimbledon in 1946.
“I think if there’s a first time, there’s going to be a second time, a third time. I’m happy that I’m the first person to make history,” Wu told reporters.
“But more important [thing] Is it bringing hope to all the Chinese fans and kids to have more great players in our country, which I think we should have had a long time ago.
Wu confirmed his status as a rising star in the men’s game in 2017 at the US Open when he became the boys’ singles champion.
Since that victory, Wu has played few international tournaments due to back, shoulder, wrist and elbow injuries, as well as travel restrictions in China due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Junior US Open Wu Yibing becomes first Chinese man to reach the US Open third round since 1881 | CNN Really gave me the confidence that I can play tennis in the men’s world as well,” she told reporters. ” [I] Got unlucky, hurt a bit.
“I’m happy that I’m still playing tennis and enjoying tennis. I think it’s really good that I can maintain my passion for tennis even though I’m in bad pain. I think It’s not easy to do but I’m glad I made it.
On the ATP Challenger Tour – the level below the ATP Tour – Wu has begun to rebuild this year, winning three titles on the circuit to take himself from world No. 1869 to a career-high world No. 173. .
He said that now is not the time to celebrate. “I have a tough opponent in the next round. That’s my mindset. I’m here to play the tournament. When the tournament is over, we have parties, but not during the tournament.