Wu Yibing triumphed in an extraordinary final against local hero John Isner at the Dallas Open to become China's first winner of a singles title at ATP tour level in the Open Era.
Isner served 44 aces but still lost, with the 37-year-old going down 6-7 (4-7) 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (14-12) in a match that saw neither player break serve at any point, climaxing in a marathon tie-break.
Former world number eight Isner was chasing a 17th singles title, and a first at an indoor tournament, and he saw a match point slide by at 6-5 in the second set.
Wu resisted one of the best serves in tennis history and took the match all the way. The first 22 points of the third-set tie-break went with serve, before Wu hit a super backhand winner to interrupt the sequence. Incredibly, Isner won the next rally to bring it back on serve, but the match then got away from him, and a stray forehand from the American gave Wu the title.
Dallas resident Isner, famed for his 11 hours and five minutes win over Nicolas Mahut at Wimbledon in 2010, featuring a 70-68 final set, said of this loss: "That kind of stunk for me."
Wu said: "It's a very tough match today. I'm not even moving when he serves. I made history here for my country. I'm very proud of myself."
Wawrinka reflects on 'tough year' after reaching ATP 1000 hard-court milestone
Stan Wawrinka reflected on a "really tough year" after racking up a new ATP 1000 milestone with his first-round victory over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard at the Shanghai Masters.
The three-time grand slam champion secured a 7-6 (7-2) 7-6 (8-6) victory in China in what was the first ATP meeting between the two.
According to Opta Ace, it represented Wawrinka's landmark 100th hard-court victory in ATP 1000 events, becoming the 12th player to do so.
Speaking on court after the victory, the veteran 39-year-old said: "It's been a really tough year so far, but I'm not getting younger so I'm trying to keep pushing myself.
"I'm happy with the match. I think it was a really good level. I was playing really good, one of the best matches of the year for me.
"He's such an aggressive player. It was great to be here, so much support here, so I'm enjoying my time in China."
Wawrinka, who only had five ATP wins this year before featuring in Shanghai, next faces Flavio Cobolli in round two.
Gauff rallies back against Starodubtseva to reach China Open semi-final
Coco Gauff came from behind to defeat Yuliia Starodubtseva and reach the semi-finals of the China Open.
Gauff was no match for the qualifier in the first set of Thursday's tie, but the American rallied back to win 2-6 6-2 6-2.
The world number six will face Paula Badosa, the 15th seed, on Saturday.
She is vying for a place in her first final since she triumphed in Auckland in January, and her first at a WTA 1000 event since she won the Cincinnati Open in 2023.
Data Debrief: Comeback queen
Including retirements, Gauff (two) has achieved multiple match wins from a set down at a single WTA 1000 event for the first time in her career, and for the first time at a single WTA event overall since last year's US Open.
Since the format's inception in 2009, meanwhile, only Caroline Wozniacki (eight) has reached more WTA 1000 semi-finals than Coco Gauff (seven) before turning 21. World number one Iga Swiatek (five) is the only other player to reach 5+ semi-finals over that span.
Badosa stands between Gauff and the final. She beat home hope Zhang Shuai in the quarters, and became the second Spaniard to reach the semi-finals of the China Open since the inception of the tournament in 2004 after Garbine Muguruza in 2015.
She is the second oldest player to reach the semi-finals of the China Open in their maiden appearance after Amelie Mauresmo in 2006.
Alcaraz lauds 'beast' Sinner after winning China Open classic
Carlos Alcaraz described Jannik Sinner as "a beast" and the world's best player after downing the Italian in Wednesday's remarkable China Open final.
Alcaraz and Sinner battled it out for over three hours in the Beijing showpiece match, with Alcaraz eventually triumphing 6-7 (6-8) 6-4 7-6 (7-3).
The Spaniard took the decisive tie-break with a remarkable run of seven straight points, having lost a tie-break in the opening set to fall behind.
At the age of 21 years and 150 days, Alcaraz is the youngest player to defeat the world number one in an ATP event final after losing the opening set since Juan Martin del Potro (20 years, 356 days), who came back to beat Roger Federer at the US Open in 2009.
Speaking after his sixth career win over the Italian (four defeats), Alcaraz outlined his belief he had overcome the very best in the sport.
"He could have won in two, I could have won in two, he could have won in three. It was a really close match," said Alcaraz.
"Jannik, once again, he showed that he's the best player in the world, at least for me.
"The level that he's playing, it's unbelievable. It's a really high quality of tennis. His shots, physically, mentally... he's a beast."
Sinner breezed into a 3-0 lead in the third-set tie-break, only for Alcaraz to show extraordinary resilience to maintain his 100% record against Sinner this year, having previously beaten him at Indian Wells and Roland Garros.
"I never lost hope. Honestly I knew that every tie-break Jannik plays is almost on his side," Alcaraz said of the decider.
"I thought that in the third set, I'm not going to lie down after two mini-breaks for him. I thought, 'okay, I have to give everything that I have just to try to give myself the opportunity to be close'.
"During the whole week I've been playing great tennis. Probably sometimes the luck went to my side a little bit in the matches."
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