Wu Yibing becomes first Chinese player to reach ATP final at Dallas Open
- Wu overcomes first-set loss to beat top-seeded American Taylor Fritz 6-7, 7-5, 6-4
- John Isner stands in Chinese player’s way, with Isner looking for his 17th title
Wu Yibing became the first Chinese player to reach an ATP Tour final, rallying for a three-set victory over top-seeded American Taylor Fritz in the Dallas Open on Saturday night.
Wu will play John Isner, who also won after dropping the first set and advanced to the final of his hometown event with a victory over fellow American J.J. Wolf.
Wu won 6-7, 7-5, 6-4 and survived all nine break points he faced, including five when down a set and trailing 2-1 in the second. Fritz had 20 aces to Wu’s six, but Wu capitalised on two of his four break chances.
“I think serving nine break points is more tough than winning a match again him,” Wu said. “I just stayed patient because I know I’m very solid with the baseline so there’s no rush. When I have a break point, I go for some big shots.”
Wu broke Fritz to take a 6-5 lead in the second set before breaking the eighth-ranked Fritz, highest among Americans, for a 3-2 lead in the deciding set.
Fritz, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon but was coming off a disappointing second-round exit at the Australian Open, had only been broken once in the tournament before facing Wu.