(Reuters) – Christopher Eubanks said winning his first title at the Mallorca Championships on Saturday had given him extra motivation and the 27-year-old American hoped to carry the momentum into Wimbledon, where he will make his main draw debut this week.
Eubanks saved five match points against Lloyd Harris in his semi-final victory on Friday but cruised to a 6-1 6-4 win in the title clash against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino to ensure he will break into the top 50 when the latest rankings are announced.
“It means the world,” Eubanks said. “It means a lot of the hard work I’ve been putting in, the ups and downs throughout my career, it all is coming together now at this point in my career. It’s a testament to the hard work.
“Now I just want to keep working even harder to feel this feeling even more.”
Eubanks’ victory comes shortly after compatriot Frances Tiafoe won the Stuttgart title.
It marks the first time since 1984 that two Americans have bagged grasscourt titles ahead of Wimbledon, when John McEnroe (Queen’s Club) and Johan Kriek (Bristol) enjoyed success.
“To come into my first Wimbledon with my first ATP title is something if you had told me when I showed up last Thursday that it would happen, I probably wouldn’t have believed you,” said Eubanks, who faces Thiago Monteiro in his Wimbledon opener.
“But here I am standing here and I’m looking forward to getting out there on Tuesday.”
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)
