Wu, 23, held four match points before securing a 6-7(4-7) 7-6(7-3) 7-6(14-12) victory over American Isner, who holds 16 titles, in just under three hours. in
Before reaching the final, no Chinese man had reached a tour-level final or beaten a top-10 opponent in the professional era.
Defeating world number eight and top seed Taylor Fritz in the semifinals, the Hangzhou native has already made her mark in the history books by achieving both of these feats.
And he looked set to set a record on Monday when he rose to world No. 58 in the rankings, making him the highest-ranked Chinese player in ATP history.
“I made history here for my country and for my home,” Wu said at the trophy ceremony. “I’m very proud of myself and especially thanks to all the fans and my team who came out here to support me. I couldn’t have done it without any of you.”
Isner served a remarkable 44 aces in the two hour and 59 minute match.
In the final tiebreak, 22 straight points went on serve before Wu forced Isner to forehand long.
“I don’t know how many match points I had, I’m sure it was a lot,” Isner said. “I swear I thought I won the match a few times… Sports can be brutal.
“He is an incredible ball striker and a very good talent.”
Prior to this week, Wu — who is out on tour from March 2019 to January 2022 due to injury — had won just six tour-level matches.
In Dallas, he defeated a series of high-powered players such as Michael Mmoh, Denis Shapovalov, Adrian Mannarino, Fritz and Isner.