Wu's revival worth the wait

Youngster finally delivers on junior potential with historic US Open campaign

From junior champion to main-draw breakout, Chinese ace Wu Yibing has rebooted a career in doubt with a history-making run at the US Open－and the young star promises there is more to come.

Considered the future of Chinese men's tennis after winning the US Open junior title in 2017, Wu has taken five years to live up to the expectations generated by that success. It took world No 1 Daniil Medvedev to stop Wu's impressive run in New York as he became the first male Chinese mainland player to reach the last 32 of the year's final major.

Having come a long way battling against career-threatening injuries, Wu was proud－and relieved－to return to the spotlight at Flushing Meadows.

"Like I said before, I knew I would come back. It just took a little bit longer than expected," Wu told Chinese media after losing 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 to defending champion Medvedev on Friday at Arthur Ashe Stadium.

"I feel like what I did here deserved the center-court appearance. Hopefully next time I will earn the same treatment through my own ranking and performance, not just by matching up with a higher-profile opponent."

Now with a healthier body and more mature game than he had years ago, it seems that it won't take long before Wu, currently ranked No 174, can crack the upper echelons. Just four months ago, he was ranked No 1,759.

"Not much to regret," Wu said of his exit at the hands of the Russian star.

"I actually prepared to win, but it's a pity that I didn't manage to do it. Next time, I believe I can deliver a bigger surprise for the fans."

"It gave me a lot of confidence knowing that the gap between me and the world No 1 wasn't too big to close. I could've done better in the last two sets, especially with my serve and volleys," added Wu, who managed one ace and 52 percent of first-serve points compared to Medvedev's 12 and 71 percent.

"The best part of playing against the top players is measuring yourself against the highest level of the game. I still believe that I can improve further－like how to approach the net better, how to hit winners in long rallies and how to become stronger physically," said the 22-year-old Zhejiang native.

Medvedev already rates his Chinese opponent among the best in the world.

"To be honest I felt like it was a high-level match because he played great," said Medvedev, who will need to reach his third final in four years to retain his place atop the men's rankings.

"The only thing he's lacking is serve to be like top 10, top 20 in the future. He was playing good. Returns were unbelievable. When he was on the ball, one of the best I ever saw."

Having won 32 of his 37 matches this year, mainly on the ATP's entry-level Challenger Tour, Wu is projected to become the highest-ranked Chinese mainland player at about 130 after the US Open.

Chinese men's tennis is now entering uncharted territory, with a recent series of breakthroughs by Wu, Zhang Zhizhen and teen prodigy Shang Juncheng helping the men step out of the shadow of their female compatriots.

Zhang, 25, joined Wu in New York as the first male Chinese mainland players in the professional era to enter the US Open main draw, after each recorded three solid qualifying wins. Zhang lost to Dutchman Tim van Rijthoven in a seesaw five-set battle in the opening round.

The 17-year-old Shang is hovering around the world's top 200 thanks to back-to-back final runs at Challenger events prior to the US Open.

The rise of the younger generation, facilitated by more professional training and greater international exposure, has garnered praise from their predecessors.

Wu Di was the first Chinese man to play a main-draw match at the Australian Open in 2013 and three years later was the first male Chinese mainland player to lift a Challenger singles trophy.

The native of Hubei province was not surprised to see the younger Wu's emergence in New York.

"I have known him since his teenage years," Wu Di told atptour.com last week. "We got familiar later and then we soon became opponents… As a teenager, he has shown the potential of a future world-class player.

"In the past few years, Chinese men's tennis has been a bit silent, but he gave all of us a big surprise at the US Open.

"The internal and external pressure and attention can distract you and it's hard not to think about it, but Wu Yibing has been very mature and calm in handling it."

In the women's draw on Saturday, teenage Chinese star Zheng Qinwen saw her maiden US Open journey end in the third round after losing 6-5, 7-6 (5) to German power hitter Jule Niemeier, while compatriot Yuan Yue was defeated by local favorite Jessica Pegula 2-6, 7-6 (6),0-6. That left Zhang Shuai, China's top women's ace at No 36, as the nation's remaining singles hope. The 33-year-old was due to face teenage American star Coco Gauff, the 12th seed, in the fourth round.

With six Chinese mainland players－two men and four women－making main-draw appearances at the US Open, the collective success has given the sport's development at home a big boost.

"We're all excited and proud to see our players' breakthrough performances at the US Open this week, which for sure will generate more attention for the game and the development of younger talents," said Lyu Liang, director of competition with the National Tennis Administrative Center.

"We will try to make the most out of the momentum to organize more youth tournaments and training programs for future stars."

sunxiaochen@chinadaily.com.cn