By Martyn Herman
LONDON (Reuters) – Christopher Eubanks’s epic Wimbledon adventure was ended in the quarter-finals by Daniil Medvedev on Wednesday but the American debutant has left an indelible mark on the championships.
With winners flying off his racket like fireworks the 27-year-old looked poised to emulate American great John McEnroe and reach the semi-final on his first appearance.
In the end he ran out of ammunition and was beaten 6-4 1-6 4-6 7-6(4) 6-1 by the third seed, receiving a standing ovation as he walked off Court One.
But his free-flowing attacking tennis, full of vintage serve and volley, rasping returns and booming serves catapulted the former Georgia Tech player into the hearts of the Court One crowd — and also into the record books.
Eubanks signed off his Wimbledon run with 321 winners, beating Andre Agassi’s record set in 1992.
Of the 1,244 points he contested during five matches at the All England Club, 26% of them ended in a Eubanks winners — a tournament leading figure.
His ace total of 102, through the quarter-finals, was also tournament-topping while his regular ventures to the net earned him 168 points with a 68% success rate — figures that will hearten those yearning for a return of the volleyers.
But statistics aside, Eubanks, who only broke into the top 100 last year and is a part-time tennis commentator, captivated the Wimbledon crowds with his free-flowing tennis, engaging personality and for the fact that he played with a smile.
Eubanks, who won his first ATP title in Mallorca the week before Wimbledon, beat British number one Cameron Norrie and fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas en route to the quarters.
His carefree approach appeared to have got the better of Medvedev until the Russian third seed dug his heels in and Eubanks said he had finally realised what he had achieved.
“I think this morning it did kind of sit in a little bit after I woke up, just realising that, man, I’m getting ready to play a Grand Slam quarter-final today. That’s really, really cool,” Eubanks told reporters.
“These two or three weeks have been filled with positives. I didn’t win today. I’m disappointed about it. It’s unfortunate for me. But I think I showed a lot of positive signs that I can take moving forward, so I’m okay with that.”
Eubanks smashed an astonishing 74 winners against Medvedev, but also racked up 55 unforced errors — a win or bust method that he said was the only way he knows.
“It’s a game style that I’ve had since I really started playing tennis at a high level, starting as a teenager,” he said. “I kind of went for my shots. I’m okay with living and dying by the mistakes.”
Eubanks will climb to a career-high 31 in the world rankings after his Wimbledon exploits and while his dream may be over, he will take home huge positives.
“I think it tells me that when I’m having fun and I’m playing carefree, I’m a pretty good tennis player,” he said.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Toby Davis)
