Chinese tennis sensation Wu Yibing (right) (Photo : Twitter)
China's hopes for its first ever male tennis star were dashed after Wu Yibing bowed out of the Australian Open Juniors semifinals.
Outclassed
We was outclassed by Israeli Yshal Oliel 4-6, 6-3, 2-6in their semis match in Melbourne on Friday, Xinhua reported.
Oliel dominated Wu early in the first set, but the 17-year-old Juniors top seed managed to mount a comeback, taking the second set. However, he was not able to maintain the momentum and bowed out of the crucial third set.
Wu was reportedly suffering a hamstring injury, causing him to have difficulties during the match.
The situation was further aggravated by lack of concentration and the crowd vocally cheering for Oliel, resulting in him hesitating in several crucial points in the match. Wu ended the match with 7 double faults and 41 unforced errors against the Israeli's 30.
"I can't do whatever I wanted," Wu admitted during the after-match interview. "If I want to win, I can win (but) it's not so easy."
Wu went on to promise that he will do better in order to get a new chance at a world championship.
The teener is set to travel to Spain with coach Nahun Garcia Sanchez after his stint to prepare for the Davis Cup.
China's Hope
While China has made it big in the international women's tennis circuit with stars like Li Na, its men\s division lags behind their foreign counterparts. Wu himself is only ranked at 158 overall, despite him being no. 3 in the Juniors category, Tennis.com reported.
As such, the country has made considerable efforts to hone potential top-class male tennis players.
Wu began playing the sport when he was 4 in his hometown of Hangzhou. By the time he was 12 years old, he was sent to train at the Potter's Wheel International Tennis Academy to train. This is where he was introduced to Sanchez, who became his full-time coach in 2016.
Before his stint at the Australian Open, Wu made a showing at the Orange Bowl Tournament in Florida last December. He headed to the finals where he lost to defending champion Miomir Kecmanovic of Serbia.
