Croatia advances in Davis Cup as Coric beats Thiem Wu Yibing tops John Isner, is 1st from China with ATP Tour title Sinner beats Cressy in Open Sud de France final

Borna Coric beat 2020 US Open champion Dominic Thiem 7-6 (3), 6-2 to send Croatia into the Davis Cup group stage.

Ćorić helped the Croatians win their second Davis Cup title in 2018, but he was ruled out when they lost the 2021 final, missing the year with a right shoulder injury.

He returned to the tour in March last year, winning the Masters 1000 title in August in Cincinnati, Ohio, and joined the Croats as they reached the semi-finals of the Davis Cup last year.

His victory over Thiem, who has also dealt with injuries in recent years, gave Croatia a 3–1 victory in Rijeka. The Austrians took the No. 1 Davis Cup tie to Game 4 when Alexander Erler and Lukas Midler beat Ivan Dodig and Nikola Mektic 6-3, 7-6 (11) in a doubles match earlier Sunday.

Chile, Finland, the Netherlands, South Korea and the Czech Republic also scored victories on Sunday to secure places in the next round in September.

On Saturday, the US completed its sweep of Uzbekistan, while Serbia, France, Britain, Switzerland and Sweden also scored victories. These 12 nations will play in the group stage alongside defending champions Canada, 2022 runner-up Australia, and wild card holders Italy and Spain.

Eight teams will then take part in the final matches of the Davis Cup final, which will be held November 21-26 in Malaga, Spain.

In other matches on Sunday:

– Finland 3, Argentina 1: On indoor hard courts in Espoo, Finland, Harri Heliovaara and Emil Ruusuvuori beat Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 7-6(5), 4-6, 6-4 before Ruusuvuori earned a winning point and a personal weekend 3:0, beating Facundo Bagnis 7:5, 6:1.

– Netherlands 4, Slovakia 0: On indoor hardcourts in Groningen, Matve Middelkop and Wesley Kohlhof sent the hosts ahead by beating Alex Molkan and Lukas Klein 6-3, 6-3. Middelkop then beat Josef Kovalik 6-4, 6-4.

– South Korea 3, Belgium 2: On indoor hard courts in Seoul, the hosts rallied after losing 2-0 after the first day. Min-Kyu Sung and Ji Sung Nam kept them alive with a 7-6(3), 7-6(5) victory over Joran Vliegen and Sander Gille. Sungwoo Kwon then beat David Goffin 3–6, 6–1, 6–3 before Song Chang Hong completed a comeback defeating Zizu Bergs 6–3, 7–6 (4).

– Czech Republic 3, Portugal 1: On an indoor clay court in Maia, Portugal, Jiri Leheka completed the win by beating Joao Souza 6-4, 6-1.

– Chile 3, Kazakhstan 1: On an open clay court in La Serena, Chile, Christian Garin beat Alexander Bublik 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 after the hosts took the lead thanks to Alejandro’s doubles win. Tabilo and Thomas Barrios Vera.

DALLAS. Wu Yibing became the first Chinese player to win an ATP Tour title by going in a three-set tiebreaker thriller to beat John Isner at the Dallas Open.

Wu cleared 44 aces from Isner with a big serve – one short of a three-set record – and four match points in a 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 7-6(12) win. The 23-year-old became the first Chinese player to reach an ATP final.

Wu also returned from a set to beat American top seed Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals. In Wu’s victory over Isner, the fifth seed who was playing in his hometown tournament, there were no service breaks.

“It’s not just about winning the title, I think it’s more about me personally making history and also for the country,” said Wu, who was the first Chinese to reach the third round of the US Open when he did it’s in qualifying. last year.

“This is very important for the next generation,” Wu said. “As for me, I need to keep going, keep my body healthy. I’m sure there’s more to come.”

Leading 8-7 in the third set tiebreaker, Isner came up to net for an easy volley that hit the top of the net and stayed on Isner’s side. The 6-foot-10 American felt his opportunity was wasted, sat for a few minutes and fiddled with the strings on his racquet.

Wu saved another match point at 10-9 and had four match points of his own in the final tiebreaker before finally converting an Isner serve when Isner sent a right hand wide of Wu’s return.

Wu fell on his back in disbelief and remained lying long enough for Isner to stumble upon the net to congratulate him.

It was the first decider-set tiebreaker in Wu’s career, making it to the top 60 rankings for the first time.

Struggling with injuries that kept him off the field for most of the 2019/20 season before the pandemic upstaged him, Wu was #1121 a year ago.

“I’ve been through a lot,” Wu said. “I think the reason I’m relaxed on the tennis courts now is because I trust myself. If you want to beat me, you’ll have to work hard.”

Since his return, Wu has a 50-10 match record and won three ATP Challenger titles before his breakthrough in Dallas.

Isner attempted his 17th career title in his 31st final. He reached the semi-finals at the first Dallas Open last year before losing in the semi-finals to eventual champion Reilly Opelka.

MONTPLELIE, France. Yannick Sinner of Italy won his seventh singles title and first of the season by beating American Maxime Cressy 7-6 (3), 6-3 in the Open Sud de France final.

The second-place Italian went undefeated in a set en route to winning the tournament.

Sinner saved three break points in Game 4 before taking a 4–0 lead in the tie-break. He took the first set when Cressy landed a backhand.

Cressy, ranked 51st, was concerned about a right finger injury and needed treatment at 3-2 in both sets.

Sinner won the final three games as Cressy took her serve down 4-3, sending in a volley forehand before scoring another volley at match point.

Cressy won their only previous meeting, a Challenger Tour match in Lexington in 2019.