Hometown hero Wu stuns Medvedev in Hangzhou QF thriller
Wu Yibing delivered his home crowd a night to remember on Sunday at the Lynk & Co Hangzhou Open, where he fought back from the brink to stun Daniil Medvedev 5-7, 7-6(5), 6-4.
The Hangzhou native trailed by a set and a break before he clawed back into the match and produced some effortless ball striking in the final set to reach his first semi-final since his 2023 run in Dallas, where he became the first Chinese man to win an ATP Tour title. He awaits third seed Alexander Bublik.
Despite hitting 17 aces throughout their three-hour, 11-minute clash, Medvedev served two crucial double faults when attempting to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, offering Wu a way back into the match. The former Nitto ATP Finals champion, who was competing in his first tournament since parting ways with his coach of eight years, Gilles Cervara, is 22nd in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.
“I got a little bit lucky in the second set, but I was giving it my best,” said Wu, who earned his first Lexus ATP Head2Head win over Medvedev (1-2). “Obviously the crowd supported me like home. Daniil is one of the toughest guys to play on Tour, especially with my style. He’s really tough to beat and I had to bring my best tennis to stay in the match. I’m glad I brought it today.”
Wu did not compete from March 2019 until January 2022 due to several injuries, including issues with his elbow, which required surgery, his lower back, shoulder and wrist. Although he won an ATP Challenger Tour event in Tyler in June, the 25-year-old is competing in just his fourth tour-level event of the season.
“It means everything, especially at home. It’s been a long couple of years behind me. I overcame a lot of injuries,” said Wu. “It’s not easy to be here, especially winning three matches in a row. Hopefully I can come back tomorrow feeling not so tired.”
Third seed Bublik, who has already won three ATP Tour titles this season, cruised past lucky loser Dalibor Svrcina 6-1, 6-1 in just 53 minutes.
The Kazakhstani won all 22 of his first-serve points according to Infosys ATP Stats and saved the only break point he faced.
In other quarter-final action in Hangzhou, Valentin Royer backed up his statement win over top seed Andrey Rublev by outlasting Learner Tien 7-6(0), 4-6, 6-2 to reach his maiden ATP Tour semi-final. Trailing by a break in both the final set, the 24-year-old Frenchman found a late spark and converted all three of his break points to seal his two-hour, 38-minute victory.
“I’m so happy… The crowd was with me. You guys like me, I like you, we have a connection,” Royer said in his on-court interview before thanking the crowd in Chinese for their support. “In the second set, he didn’t miss a single ball, and in the third set, I was a break down again… I just don’t know how I managed to win, I’m so happy.”
Prior to his debut campaign in Hangzhou, Royer had never earned consecutive tour-level wins. Yet with his impressive showing over three main-draw matches, he is up five spots to a career-high No. 83 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
Royer set an all-French semi-final with fourth seed Corentin Moutet, who advanced on Sunday lunchtime after Tomas Martin Etcheverry was forced to retire. Moutet dropped the opening set 3-6, but led 3-0 in the second when the Argentine — visibly struggling — retired.
Like Royer, Moutet is another player competing at a career-high in the PIF ATP Rankings this week. The 26-year-old, who saved two match points in his second-round win over Arthur Cazaux, is into his personal-best third semi-final of the season and has risen two spots to No. 37 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings.
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