John Isner and Yibing Wu battled in the 2023 Dallas Open final as the former could become the first Chinese man to win an ATP title.
In the past three season, Isner celebrated only one triumph, which came in 2021 in Atlanta, and he started the 2023 season with first-round losses in Auckland and at the Australian Open. However, once he came back to the home soil, he started winning again.
"I'm a homebody and very lucky to, of course, have this tournament here in my backyard. I'm happy to move on. I've got to keep improving, and I think I can."
The tall American labeled himself as 'a homebody' after the first win of the season, which he followed up on with three more triumphs to set up the final against the Chinese player, who stunned the likes os Denis Shapovalov and Taylor Fritz on his way to the final.
The final match was a nail-bitter. In the first set, Wu couldn't respond to Isner's serves, as the American hit 17 aces. All three sets reached a tie-break and the first one was won by the home player, who won it 7-4.
In the second set, Isner continued to hit many unstoppable serves, recording 15 aces, and he even had a match point in the twelfth game. But he couldn't use his chance and this time, it was Wu's moment to shine in the tie-break, as he won it 7-3 to force a decider.
Also the third set was decided in a tie-break, and this time, it took much longer before fans saw a mini-break. Both players were almost perfect on their serves and the score was soon tied at six-all as Isner had the first match point of the third set and his second in the match.
A couple of points later, Wu also came only one point away from winning his first ATP title. Yet, Isner was unstoppable on his serve and the players changed sites a couple more times as the score was tied at 12-12.
Wu then won the last two points to win his first ATP title and become the first man from his country to do so. The champion earned $112,125 and 250 points, while the runner-up got $65,405 as their share of prize money and 150 points.
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