China's Wu Yibing in action during his U.S. Open first round victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili on Aug. 29. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
Wu Yibing of China made history by reaching into the U.S. Open second round for the first time.
NEW YORK, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- Qualifier Wu Yibing made history as he sailed into the U.S. Open second round for the first time here on Monday.
The rising Chinese player swept past 31st seed Nikoloz Basilashvili of Georgia 6-3, 6-4, 6-0 in his Grand Slam main draw debut and extended his winning streak this season to 14 matches.
China's Wu Yibing celebrates after his U.S. Open first round victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili on Aug. 29. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
"I didn't make too many unforced errors," the 22-year-old said. "I'm calm now and I'm more interested in adjusting my form and getting ready for the next match."
Wu will next face Portuguese qualifier Nuno Borges, who eliminated local wildcard Ben Shelton.
Fellow Chinese qualifier Zhang Zhizhen was beaten by Tim van Rijthoven of the Netherlands, despite leading 2-0 and holding seven match points. He eventually lost the near four-hour marathon 3-6, 6-7 (4), 7-6 (9), 6-1 and 6-4.
Zhang Zhizhen hits a return during the men's singles first round match between Zhang Zhizhen of China and Tim van Rijthoven of the Netherlands at the 2022 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, Aug. 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
On the women's side, Zhang Shuai advanced to the second round after a 6-4, 6-2 win over Jil Teichmann of Switzerland.
Zhang Shuai of China hits a return during the women's singles first round match against Jil Teichmann of Switzerland at the 2022 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, Aug. 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
"I've had better performances in the past two weeks in Cincinnati and Cleveland, so I was confident that I could play well today," said Zhang, who will take on Anna-Karolina Schmiedlova of Slovakia.
Youngster Wang Xiyu came back from one set down to beat France's Diane Parry 5-7, 6-3, 6-3, and she will now meet third-seeded Maria Sakkari of Greece.
Wang Xiyu of China celebrates after winning the women's singles first round match against Diane Parry of France at the 2022 US Open tennis championships in New York, the United States, Aug. 29, 2022. (Xinhua/Liu Jie)
"Maria is an exceptionally good athlete and all I can do is to learn more from the match. She is an attacking player and I have to stay focused," said Wang. ■
