laitimes

"I want to be a better version of myself" – an interview with Chinese male tennis player Wu Yiyu

author:Xinhua

Xinhua News Agency, Beijing, September 13 Title: "I hope to become a better self" - An interview with Chinese male tennis player Wu Yiyu

Xinhua News Agency

The 2022 U.S. Open has come to an end, and in this US Open, Chinese players have made an unprecedented breakthrough in the singles arena. Wu Yixun, Zheng Qinwen, Wang Xiyu and Yuan Yue broke into the us open 32, 33-year-old veteran Zhang Shuai advanced to the round of 16, and Wu Yixun made a historic breakthrough in the Chinese mainland male tennis players on the Grand Slam field.

Recently, Wu Yiyu said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua News Agency that through this US Open competition, he not only increased his confidence, but also found the gap with the world's top players, and believed that more breakthroughs could be made in the future.

Harvest full: score 8 points for your performance at the US Open

"If the full score is 10 points, this time give yourself 8 points, these 2 points are deducted on the body, and the body is not in the best state at present; The other point is deducted on the room for improvement, whether it is winning or losing, I still have a lot of room for improvement. Wu Yiyu said.

Looking back at this US Open competition, Wu Yiyu started from the qualifiers and fought hard in the qualifiers to advance to the main tournament in three rounds. In the main match, Wu Yiyu defeated Georgia's Bashirashvili, who was ranked 35th in the world at the time, in the first three straight sets, and defeated the top 50 player in the world ranking for the first time in his career. In the second round, Wu Yiyu defeated Portugal's Bergers in five sets, becoming the first Chinese mainland player to reach the men's singles round of 32 in the Open era.

In the third round, Wu Yiyu lost to the tournament's top seed, then the world number one Medvedev, and missed the next round. Medvedev gave Wu Yiyu a high evaluation after the game: "This game is actually very difficult, his level is very high, the serve is the world's top level, and many innings are close. ”

Through the duel with the world's top masters, Wu Yiyu said that he gained a lot: "They have a strong ability to seize opportunities in the game, and they still lack in this regard, and they will accumulate more experience through competitions in the future." ”

This trip to the US Open has enhanced Wu Yiyu's confidence and also found gaps and deficiencies. "Their ability to catch the ball and the bottom line is competitive, and the next step that needs to be improved is to serve and cut the ball in front of the net, intercept and other small techniques, which are usually not practiced enough."

Mr. Wu said he admired Murray and Federer and used them as an example. "Federer plays fast and has accurate points, which is worth learning. But others are just a template to borrow, and everyone wants to be a better version of themselves. ”

Back to the U.S. Open: Where Dreams Begin

Born in 1999 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, Wu Yiyu was exposed to tennis at the age of 4, was selected for the Zhejiang Provincial Team at the age of 8, and won the Chinese Tennis Grand Prix in 2016. In 2017, 18-year-old Wu Yiyu won both men's singles and men's doubles in the US Open Junior Competition, becoming the first grand slam junior men's singles champion in Chinese mainland and once ranking first in the youth world.

Five years later, Wu returned to the U.S. Open to start his first adult Grand Slam journey. "I leave the best memories of my youth here, and I start a new career here. I believe it was a special kind of fate, and this stadium witnessed the first part of my life and opened the next one. Wu Yiyu said.

This time, Wu Yiyu played a total of three qualifiers and three regular matches in the US Open, and the road to promotion was not smooth. In the second round of the qualifiers against Italy's Travaglia, Wu Yiyu lost the first set and completed the reversal in the second set after falling behind 1:4. 'It was the most memorable game, when the score was behind and the physical condition was terrible, called a medical timeout, I tried to stick to the game in various ways, and finally turned the game over, this victory gave me a lot of confidence, I proved to myself that even if I have an injury, I can win the game." Wu Yiyu recalled.

After winning the first main game, Wu Yiyu wrote on social media: "I saw a butterfly flying over the ruins. This has been interpreted by many as a stage microcosm of Wu Yihao's tennis career.

Wu Yihao, who debuted at the peak, has been plagued by injuries since 2018, and his competitive status has declined rapidly, and then he rarely appears in the international arena, like a completely closed cocoon. "In fact, I want to pass on some positive energy to everyone through my experience, where there is light, there will be shadows, but some people may see it as a shadow, will face it negatively, in fact, these are all part of life, the key depends on what kind of mentality we face." 」

What impressed Wu Yiyu was the second round of his five-set battle with Bojies. He trailed twice, equalized twice, and took the lead in the decider to break to win the game. "This is my first senior Grand Slam tournament and the second time in my career to play a five-set game, and now [the fifth set] is still 100% win rate, I'm very happy." Wu Yiyu said.

Looking to the future: Healthy competition within the team I believe there will be a breakthrough

This time in the US Open, along with Wu Yiyu, there is another Chinese player, Zhang Zhizhen, who is both friends, teammates and competitors. "I'm really happy for him because we've always been good friends, good brothers, but at the same time competitors. This week we entered the Grand Slam tournament hand in hand, in fact, I also have a momentum in my heart, everyone wants to perform better, and there is healthy competition between us. Wu Yiyu said.

At the beginning of this season, Wu Yihao's world ranking has fallen out of 1700, and after a season of hard work, his current world ranking has reached 131st. Speaking of future goals, Wu Hope hopes to have the opportunity to qualify for next year's Australian Open through the points ranking and enter the world's top 100 as soon as possible. "This season has given me more confidence, and I used to think of some goals that I couldn't think of, but now I feel that I will slowly achieve them through continuous efforts." Wu Yiyu said.

This year's US Open, four female players in China have reached the round of 32 at the same time, and Wu Yiyu expects that in the future, Chinese male tennis players can also make collective breakthroughs. "Now there are a lot of good players in The country, like Shang Juncheng, Buyun Chaokett and so on are very promising to make breakthroughs in the future. If we have more players who can finish in the top 150, it's only a matter of time before we break through the top 100. "This time, Wu Yiyu and Zhang Zhizhen are following Zhang Xuan and Wu Di's joint participation in the Australian Open in 2014, and two Chinese mainland men's singles players appear at the same time at the Grand Slam main tournament.

More love, this is Wu Yiyu's evaluation of his understanding of the game of tennis. "I'm willing to take the time to read some tennis-related articles, and the process is a pleasure for me, even if it's watching my own game, I can sum up a lot of things. I've seen this game many times, and if I had to play again, I'd do better. ”

Wu Yiyu also paid attention to and expected teenagers. "In fact, there are many youth competitions in China now, which provide a good platform for children. As a professional player, if our results are better, I believe it will also lead more people to participate in this sport, so that more children can understand tennis and fall in love with tennis. (Written by: Li Dian; Participating reporters: Li Bowen, Ma Xiangfei, Hu Jiali, Le Wenwan, Wang Hengzhi) (End)

Read on