Top Men’s Moment – Wu Yibing lifts Dallas title
23-year-old Wu Yibing has enjoyed a stunning breakout week in Dallas to claim his first ATP title.
Wu made history for his home nation, becoming the first Chinese man to win a tour-level title and now the first to be ranked inside the ATP top 60.
“I made history for my country. I’m very proud of myself,” Wu said post-match.
The Dallas champion’s run included four consecutive scalps over seeded opponents, and a maiden top-10 victory over Taylor Fritz:
R32: Wu def Mmoh 6-3, 3-6, 6-3
R16: Wu def [3] Shapovalov 7-6(1), 6-4
QF: Wu def [8] Mannarino 6-3, 6-4
SF: Wu def [1] Fritz 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4
F: Wu def [5] Isner 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 7-6(12)
Sunday’s final saw Isner hit a personal record 44-aces in a three-set encounter – still not enough to stop Wu’s title charge.
“You’re like really unflappable, dude,” Isner said of Wu post-match.
“You’re gonna be a bright spot for the sport of tennis in the future,” he added.
Top Women’s Moment – Bencic battles back from brink in Abu Dhabi
Belinda Bencic has won her second WTA 500 of the year, after saving three match points to defeat Liudmila Samsonova 1-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 in Abu Dhabi.
The 25-year-old from Switzerland enjoyed some luck to save the second match point – hitting both a net cord and a ball which landed on the back of baseline – to keep her in the contest.
With just one loss in 2023 – coming against Sabalenka in Melbourne – Bencic is now the WTA tour leader in wins on the season with 12.
Top Aussie Moment – Birrell wins first singles title abroad
24-year-old Aussie Kim Birrell made the trip from Tasmania to Florida and enjoyed a career-best week at the ITF 60K in Orlando.
Birrell – who had previously won three professional singles titles, all on home soil – has now lifted her first trophy overseas and her first ITF 60k title and will soar to a new career-high ranking of world number 136.
Honourable Aussie Mention – Fourlis claims Burnie title
Jaimee Fourlis opted to stay in Tasmania for the 25K event in Burnie and was rewarded with her first singles title since June last year.
In Sunday’s final, the 23-year-old from Melbourne overcame top seed Olivia Gadecki 6-4, 6-3, redeeming her semi-final loss to Gadecki from a week prior.
Something Different – Bublik goes Baghdatis mode
Alexander Bublik’s on-court behaviour over recent years has often been questionable but none more so than this week in Montpellier.
Down 0-6 in the final set tiebreak of his first-round clash, Bublik’s anger was relayed onto his racquets – not just one, but three – in scenes drawing comparisons to those of Marcos Baghdatis at the 2012 Australian Open.
Stat of the week – 1869
That was Yibing Wu’s ranking on this day eleven months ago. He’s now not only well inside the top 1000, but well inside the ATP top 100 – and nearing the top 50.
April 2022 – Wu defeats the world number 1444 in an ITF 15K final in Orange Park.
February 2023 – Wu defeats world number 36 John Isner in an ATP 250 final in Dallas.
A remarkable rise.
Tweet of the week – 99 Grand Slam singles titles in one photo
This uncovered photo from journalist Christopher Clarey went viral on tennis twitter this week.
The image is from a Nike photoshoot in August 2015, featuring a cumulative 99 major singles titles, all gathered around one car.
Other title winners from the week:
WTA 250 - Linz, Austria
[8] Anastasia Popatova def [6] Petra Martic (CRO) 6-3, 6-1
ATP 250 - Montpellier, France
[2] Jannik Sinner (ITA) def Maxime Cressy (USA) 7-6(3), 6-3
ATP 250 - Cordoba, Argentina
[4] Sebastian Baez (ARG) def [6] Federico Coria (ARG) 6-1, 3-6, 6-3
ATP Challenger Tour:
Vilnius, Lithuania
Liam Broady (UK) def Zdenek Kolar (CZE) 6-4, 6-4
Tenerife, Spain
[LL] Matteo Gigante (ITA) def [WC] Stefano Travglia (ITA) 6-3, 6-2
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