Chinese player continues advance up the rankings with victory in Dallas
Wu Yibing of China serves to Denis Shapovalov of Canada during the Dallas Open at the Styslinger/Altec Tennis Complex in Dallas, Texas on Wednesday. The Chinese upset the tournament No 3 seed 7-6(1), 6-4 to reach the quarterfinals. [Photo/GETTY IMAGES]
Three days after cracking the top 100 in a career milestone, China's rising tennis ace Wu Yibing stepped up a gear on his inexorable rise on Wednesday by reaching his first ATP tour-level quarterfinal in style.
Entering the second round at the Dallas Open as an underdog, ranked 97th in the world, Wu stole the show after he stunned world No 27 Denis Shapovalov in straight sets to secure his first quarterfinal appearance on the ATP Tour while going full steam ahead on his recent surge.
With the biggest win of his career, by the measure of the ranking gap, Wu is expected to at least climb to world No 90 on Monday to overtake 91st-ranked compatriot Zhang Zhizhen and become the highest-ranked Chinese mainland player on the ATP Tour in the open era.
After reaching the final at a lower-level ATP Challenger event in Cleveland, Ohio, on Sunday, Wu broke into the top 100 this week for the first time in his career.
"I've been playing great tennis the past few months," Wu said during his on-court interview after beating Shapovalov, 7-6 (1), 6-4, in one hour and 34 minutes at the ATP 250 level tournament in Texas.
"Hopefully I can keep playing good. Thanks for all the fans (coming to) watch, especially Chinese fans. I can hear you guys."
Opening the match quicker and steadier than his opponent, Wu soon put pressure on Shapovalov with an early break and held firm facing the Canadian star's comeback to run away with the tie-break in the first set.
Wu saw an early lead in the second set erased again, but the 23-year-old dictated the match with authority and poise beyond his age after he broke Shapovalov for the third time to earn a decisive 4-3 lead and followed up with two solid service games to close out the match.
"I did an early break and I can see he's not playing his best today. So that gives me more confidence on the court. So I could stay more in the rallies and do the things I need to focus on," Wu said of his performance.
Wu became just the fourth Chinese mainland man to reach the quarterfinal stage at an ATP tour-level event, following Pan Bing in 1995 (Seoul), Zhang Ze in 2012 (Beijing) and Zhang Zhizhen in 2017(Shenzhen) and 2022 (Napoli).
A more mature player technically and mentally, as he reckoned after the win, Wu has reset his season target to push for a top-30 break on the rankings.
"On the ATP Tour in general the level is higher especially that the guys have been playing for so long at a very high quality," said Wu, who first rose to international headline in 2017 by winning the US Open boys' title.
"So for me I need to catch up by playing more ATP Tour events to try to stay in the group with the best."
Long-awaited rise
As recently as April last year, Wu was tied for world No 1,869 at the lowest spot in his career following a series of injuries that had sidelined him from international play for almost three years from 2019-21.
With his conditioning much improved as well as his hitting style, Wu has enjoyed a meteoric rise since the beginning of last spring, winning three Challenger titles in less than a two-month span before surprisingly storming into the third round of the US Open to mark his biggest major breakthrough up to date.
Now, as arguably the most intriguing prospect to watch on the tour, Wu keeps his skyrocketing rise in perspective as he pushes for more progress to fulfill his potential.
"I am thankful to all these injuries and setbacks over the years because it's given me a different personal experience," he explained.
"I would say the most important thing I learned is just to accept the things that have happened and to accept winning or losing. And this makes you a better person.
"I became more mature. Because of this I think I play better tennis and also enjoy the game more."
Wu will next play either Australia's Jordan Thompson or Frenchman Adrian Mannarino, who will match up in another round of 16 clash, in the quarterfinal on Friday. Should the Chinese player continue advancing, he will draw near the world top 80 next week.
On the women's professional circuit, China's world No 29 player Zheng Qinwen reached her first quarterfinal in the 2023 season at the Abu Dhabi Open on Wednesday with a 7-6 (10), 6-1 upset of No 5 seed Jelena Ostapenko.
Firing 10 aces to contribute to her 28 winners to Ostapenko's 20, Zheng defeated the 2017 French Open champion a second time after her three-set opening-round victory over the Latvian at last year's US Open.
It was the 20-year-old Chinese star's third quarterfinal at the WTA 500 level or above in the past seven months, following Toronto in August and a maiden tour final in Tokyo in September.
"Whoever stands across the net it doesn't matter as long as I did my best," said Zheng. "I will just always focus on my own performance to try to bring my A-game every time I step on the court."
