Exactly one year ago, with the ranking update after the
ATP 250 in Dallas
, the Chinese
Wu Yibing
appeared in position 1086 in the world ranking.
This Monday, after beating
John Isner
in three tiebreaks and consecrating himself in the American tournament, he rose 39 positions and reached his best historical position (58th).
He overcame the powerful serves of the giant Isner, powered by his 2.08 meter height, and collected four match points before lifting his first title on the big circuit (he won four Challengers).
Trained by the Argentine
Gerardo Azcurra,
he left on the way a Top 10 like
Taylor Fritz,
the always threatening
Denis Shapovalov
and the experienced
Adrian Mannarino,
in addition to his debut with the local Mmoh.
A dream week.
Upon
receiving his trophy, among all the thanks, he recognized Azcurra's work:
"He helps me a lot, he gives me positive advice to grow. It's great to work with him and with my entire team,"
said the tennis player who gave China his first ATP title in the men's singles modality.
Wu was the 2017 US Open Junior Champion. Abbie Parr/Getty Images/AFP.
He is 23 years old and with this trophy he confirms what he promised in the Juniors days, when
he was champion of the US Open youth in 2017
after beating Argentine
Axel Geller in the final.
As often happens, he suffered the adaptation to professionalism but this week he managed to make the leap that he had been looking for and is positioned as a name to keep in mind for the future.
That year, when he established himself at Flushing Meadows at the age of 17, IMG offered him a contract to take the reins of his career, just as the same multinational did with
Rafael Nadal
and
Roger Federer
, to mention some of the most emblematic cases.
They were aware of the talent that he is now beginning to show on the ATP circuit.
Born in Hangzhou on October 14, 1999, Wu Yibing said he would like to celebrate the victory with his family, whom he has not been able to see for a year due to the coronavirus situation in his country.
"I can't get in
," he argues.
A curiosity: his first sport, as a child, was not tennis.
It was badminton, very popular in Asia.
However, he had to change for a singular reason: the net was too high.
Something that would not be an impediment now, since at some point he hit the growth spurt and reached meter 83.
Wu Yibing's happiness after winning in Dallas.
His benchmark is
Yao Ming,
the best Chinese basketball player in history, who shone in the NBA for ten seasons with the
Houston Rockets jersey.
Without a great basketball tradition in China, the 2.29-meter giant.
managed to succeed.
Wu dreams of doing something similar in tennis.
"I am happy above all for having made history in my country. I hope this victory helps the new generations. I have to stay healthy because I am sure that more successes will come," he reflected
.
He also recognizes
Kevin Durant
as his childhood idol: "My first memory of a basketball game was the 2012 NBA finals between Oklahoma and Miami. I discovered Durant there. I love
his staging, which I never "You know what he feels. I identify with him a bit on the track. He's elegant and doesn't do nonsense."
In addition
, still from Dallas, he left a pearl to meet this young man who yearns to fulfill everything that is expected of him.
He says that he likes to watch cooking programs and try to replicate recipes that he sees there, a way to distract himself after training, and he confesses that he doesn't like parties and that he only listens to Asian music.
china grows
Along with Wu,
Juncheng Shang
is another of the Chinese tennis players who promise to give something to talk about on the ATP circuit.
He turned 18 on February 2 and during the last
Australian Open,
still 17, he became the
first Chinese tennis player to claim a main draw victory in the first Grand Slam of the season.
Like Wu, Shang is also trained by an Argentine, Dante Bottini.
"It's huge for Chinese men's tennis. We had really good players on the women's side, but honestly not big names on the men's side,"
Shang
said
after qualifying and beating German
Oscar Otte in the first round.
Juncheng Shang, promise of Chinese tennis.
EFE/EPA/Fazry Ismail.
Months ago, he fired Marcelo Ríos
as
his coach
and began working with Bottini.
Although the reasons for their breakup were not clear, the tennis player made it clear that he did not like the ways of
Chino
.
"For me and my family, the most important thing is to be a good person, to respect others. It's the most important thing I want to show on and off the pitch, and with Marcelo I don't think that was being expressed one hundred percent. It
's Too bad it didn't work out," he explained to
Clay
magazine
.
"He plays very easy, but he doesn't get the fuck out (he doesn't make an effort). For me, a professional trains two and a half hours in the morning and two and a half hours in the afternoon, more physical. He wakes up two hours after 12 noon... They have another culture. Any pain we stop. The hueón (guy) advances five steps and goes back 10", shot the Chilean former number 1 in the world in statements to the newspaper La Tercera de Chile.
look too
Argentina Open: Pella and Cachín, the first locals to take the field at the ATP in Buenos Aires
ATP Ranking: Novak Djokovic remains No. 1 but there was a historic change of command in Argentine tennis
The Argentina Open starts, a tournament that grows year by year and promises a combo of attractions with Alcaraz as a great magnet
