Wu Yibing’s Winning Streak Cut Short: Injury Forces Retirement as Huang Zelin Makes History in Hangzhou Tennis Championships
Hangzhou Tennis Open: Huang Zelin Advances to Second Round After Wu Yibing’s Injury
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The ATP 250 Hangzhou Tennis Open hosted the top 32 in the men’s singles first round on Thursday (19th). Huang Zelin defeated his opponent Wu Yibing in the first set 6:3, before Wu Yibing withdrew due to a back injury.
Huang Zelin, who is ranked 141 in the world, recently defeated Mongolian-born Chinese golfer Terigele 2:1 in the qualifying round and won a seat in the main draw. Today, he will face Wu Yibing, who is ranked 556 in the world, in the first round. The Hangzhou-born Chinese golfer is ranked as high as 54 in the world.
Image: hangzhouopen
Huang Zelin outperformed his opponent in this match, scoring 8 “Aces” in the first set and his first serve scoring rate reached 93%. After both sides took turns to hold serve in the first set, Huang Zelin took the lead by breaking serve in the fifth game, and then broke again to lead 5:3. After 37 minutes, he won the first set 6:3.
Wu Yibing made 19 unforced errors in the first set, 10 more than Huang Zelin. He chose to retire after the first set due to a back injury. Huang Zelin was interviewed by the conference after the match and expressed his concern for Wu Yibing: “We are very good friends and we all know each other. We played in the Asian Games here last year and it was a crazy game. It’s a shame this game ended early, I feel sorry for him and hope he gets better soon.”
Image: hangzhouopen
This is the first time Huang Zelin has advanced to the second round of the ATP 250 event. His opponent in the top 16 is the 23-year-old American player Brandon Nakajima, ranked 39 in the world.