Wu Yibing becomes first Chinese man to reach the US Open third round since 1881

By Issy Ronald, CNN

Updated 1105 GMT (1905 HKT) September 1, 2022

Wu Yibing is the first male singles player from China to advance to the third round of a grand slam since Kho Sin-Khie at Wimbledon in 1946.

(CNN)At every stage of this year's US Open, Wu Yibing has made history.

No Chinese man had ever reached the main draw of theUS Open in the Open Era until Wu and his compatriot Zhang Zhizhen both qualified for this year's tournament last week.Wu then became the first Chinese man to win a singles match at any grand slam for 63 years with a 6-3 6-4 6-0 victory over Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round. By defeating fellow qualifier Nuno Borges 6-7 (3) 7-6 (4) 4-6 6-4 6-4 in a four-hour thriller on Wednesday, the 22-year-old also became the first Chinese man since 1881 to reach the third round where he will face world No. 1 and defending champion Daniil Medvedev on Friday. The last man from China to reach the third round of any grand slam was Kho Sin-Khie at Wimbledon in 1946.Read More«I think if there is a first time, there is going to be a second time, a third time. I'm happy that I'm the first guy to make it history,» Wu told reporters.«But the more important [thing] is this bringing hope to all the Chinese fans and the kids so we can have more great players in our country, which I think we should have had a long time ago.»Wu confirmed his status as a rising star in the men's game back in 2017 at the US Open when he became the boys' singles champion.Wu knocked out the No. 31 seed Nikoloz Basilashvili in the first round on Monday.Since that victory, Wu has played in few international tournaments due to back, shoulder, wrist and elbow injuries, as well as the travel restrictions in China prompted by the Covid-19