Yu Wibing is into the quarterfinals of the 2023 Dallas Open after stunning Denis Shapovalov 7-6(1), 6-4 in one hour and 33 minutes.
The world number 97 served two aces and won 67% of his first serve points in a match that went back and forth for two entertaining sets of tennis to the delight of the fans.
“I have been playing great tennis,” Yu said afterwards. ” I am glad I made it and hopefully I can keep playing well”.
Wu got off to the best possible start by holding the opening service game with ease and putting pressure right away on the Toronto native who got off to a slower start. Wu ended up breaking the world number 27 to love and jumped out to a 3-0 lead before Shapovalov started fighting back by winning the next three games. With little to separate the two, the opener went into a tiebreaker.
The world number 97 got an early break in the breaker to lead 2-0. From there he jumped out a 5-1 lead before winning the breaker 7-1 to seal the first set.
The second set was similar to the first as Wu broke Shapovalov’s serve in the opening game but again the Canadian responded to level the set at 2-2. At 3-3 Wu had two more breakpoints and at the second time of asking was able to break serve once again with a powerful forehand winner that caught the number three seed off guard.
That break was enough for the Chinese player to serve out the match and secure the biggest win of his career so far. Afterwards, he spoke briefly about his journey in the sport so far.
“It has given me a lot of personal experience and I feel I matured more because of that I play good tennis,” he said. “I also enjoy it more and I need to thank my team because they keep me healthy and positive”.
Wu will now play the winner of the second-round match between Adrian Mannarino and Jordan Thompson in the quarterfinals on Friday.
Day 3 results
Day 3 at the Dallas Open featured some first and second-round matches as players looked to advance in the tournament.
Earlier in the night the number two seed Frances Tiafoe had no issues getting past his fellow American Mackenzie McDonald in straight sets 6-1, 6-3 in a mere 58 minutes on court.
The number six seed JJ Wolf beat Radu Albot in straight sets 6-3, 7-6 in one hour and 48 minutes while the German Oscar Otte ousted another American Christopher Eubanks 6-4, 4-6, 6-2.
Emilio Gomez of Ecuador needed three sets to beat the Lucky Loser from Canada Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 6-7, 7-6 in two hours and 42 minutes while Daniel Altmaier beat qualifier Zachary Svajda 6-2, 6-4.
Day 4 preview
Thursday will feature five matches in the round of 16 and the day will begin on Stadium Court with the number four seed Miomir Kecmanovic facing Emilio Gomez.
Then Jordan Thompson will face Adrian Mannarino followed by the number five seed John Isner facing Altmaier.
In the night session, the top seed Taylor Fritz will face the American wild card Jack Sock. The final match of the day will feature the number seven seed Marcus Giron taking on another German Oscar Otte.
