Benoit Paire Dominates Yibing Wu in UTS Los Angeles 2023

UTS Los Angeles 2023 kicked off this Friday at Dignity Health Sports Park. Benoit Paire “The Rebel”, already present during the first two editions of Ultimate Tennis Showdown, was opposed to a newcomer in this universe, Yibing Wu “The Great Wall”.

Questioned by Max Whittle, one of the two commentators, the Frenchman explained that he felt good and confirmed that he had not lost a single quarter in training since the start of the week!

And that was confirmed afterwards, with “The Rebel” which started its match very well and “The Great Wall” which summed up its start very well: “I was useless” he declared at the end of the first quarter! Benoit Paire took the lead 22-8, notably succeeding in his use of the “next point counts triple” bonus card by taking advantage of an error by his opponent in length.

The Frenchman also pleased the American public with superb backhand amortizations, including a winner in the first quarter which must have given him confidence for the future. After a line-long backhand pass to give him the 6-2 advantage in the second quarter, he even asked for the support of the public, who responded with a nice round of applause! He drove “The Great Wall” crazy in stride with a new winning backhand cushioning, his signature move for this first meeting.

Yibing Wu rebelled

Back to the wall, Yibing Wu tried to use his bonus card and was able to take advantage of a double fault from Benoit Paire to offer himself three points before equalizing at 12-12 with less than 30 seconds remaining! At 14-14, the two players had to play a decisive point, won by “The Great Wall” after a backhand foul by his opponent. “I was lucky,” explained Yibing Wu with a smile at the end of the second quarter.

“I didn’t play the important points well,” declared the Frenchman, explaining that he felt the pressure of a victory on his shoulders! A pressure he quickly evacuated in the third quarter, winning 15-12. To better manage the rest, he called on his coach who advised him to use his 15 seconds before serving.

With the hand still hot, ‘The Rebel’ continued to draw ‘The Great Wall’ to the net with a superb drop-lob sequence that had the Los Angeles crowd on their feet! The fourth quarter was unbreathable but it was the Chinese who best managed the important points, once again, to snatch a sudden death, the first of this UTS Los Angeles 2023.

And before this important moment, “The Great Wall” did not put the public in the pocket by explaining that he loved basketball and a player in particular, Kevin Durant, because he beat the Los Angeles Lakers of a certain Lebron James several times! The two players shared the first three points, and it was Yibing Wu who won the victory on a service fault by Benoit Paire!

Yibing Wu 8-22, 15-14, 12-15, 14-11, 3-2 Benoit Pair