The dream continues! Chris Eubanks ousts Stefanos Tsitsipas in five for Wimbledon quarterfinal

My what a difference a year can make.

Twelve months ago, Christopher Eubanks was ranked No. 159 in the world. He had gone out in the second round of Wimbledon qualifying and while the grass-court major was wrapping up, was making his way through the qualifying stages of Newport.

Today, Eubanks is an ATP title holder—and a Wimbledon quarterfinalist on his main-draw debut at SW19. Monday's latest effort is by far his grandest, a 3-6, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 win over world No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas for a maiden Top 5 victory.

“Chris Eubanks, haven’t you made a splash?” a smiling Jenny Drummond said as she began a courtside interview.

“I feel like I’m living a dream right now,” responded Eubanks. “This is absolutely insane. When you paint all of the context—I’ve tried so much to block everything out, just focus on the next match as cliché as it sounds—It’s surreal. I can’t believe this.”

The victory marked the 27-year-old’s ninth consecutive on grass following his Mallorca triumph. On how he got it done, Eubanks said, “The funny thing about tennis, you’re not always gonna play your best. You just got to play really good at certain times. I felt like I did that really well today.

“I came up clutch when I needed to.”

For all the twists and turns, from trailing by two sets to one to seeing his initial break advantage in the decider erased, the final game was as nerve-wracking as they come. The tension showed when certain shots errantly flew off Eubanks’ racquet, but he stayed the course in saving a pair of break points. Reaching match point, a confident serve +1 ended the match, as Eubanks ripped his 53rd winner on the day with a potent inside-in forehand.

“You saw some of those misses, that was really tough,” chuckled Eubanks before diving into a personal assessment. “I like to consider myself a server. And I think that servers really show that they’re servers in moments like that. Although it got a little bit dicey at the end, I still could have the confidence to say, ‘I’m a server, I hit serving targets for these moments right here.’”

Eubanks has now eliminated two seeded opponents, having dispatched British No. 1 Cameron Norrie, the No. 12 seed, in the second round over four sets. For a place in the semifinals, Eubanks will go for his first Top 3 win against third-ranked Daniil Medvedev.

The 2021 US Open champion led Jiri Lehecka, 6-4, 6-2, when the Czech retired with an injury. Two days prior, Eubanks was among the players Medvedev was asked to assess in his press conference.

“He is not scared of anything. He just goes for it. Hits very, very fast. Goes to the net as soon as he has the opportunity. Big serve,” said Medvedev, who defeated Eubanks, 6-3, 7-5, in this year’s Miami Open quarterfinals.

“From what I saw, because I know him since long time, he managed to find something this year which I don't think he had before, is the consistency of doing like back-to-back matches, not missing too much, going for the same shots, just being consistent.

“First title gives you wings, if we can say like this. We can see it here.”

Medvedev achieved his best showing at the All England Club and has advanced to the semifinals or better at the three other majors.