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In his first match since his breakthrough run to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon, Christopher Eubanks won his opening match in Atlanta on Tuesday night, beating fellow American Andres Martin, 6-2, 6-4.

Not only was Eubanks never broken in nine service games, he only lost six points on serve—and just one point in his first five service games.

He was asked afterwards what it was like coming out on center court at his home tournament as a big favorite against Martin, a wild card.

“I tried not to think about it too much. It was more so that Andres and I know each other really well,” Eubanks said. “He’s the guy I practice with the most out of anybody in Atlanta when I’m home. I knew that I’m going to know his game, and he’s going to know my game.

“I just wanted to focus in and lock in on every point, and just let the rest take care of itself.”

Eubanks has now won 10 of his last 11 matches. He went 5-0 to win his first ATP title in Mallorca the week before Wimbledon, then went 4-1 at Wimbledon, where he reached the quarterfinals before falling to Daniil Medvedev in five sets, and he's now 1-0 so far in Atlanta this week.

He’s risen from No. 77 to No. 32 on the ATP rankings in that time, and with a deep run in Atlanta he could break into the Top 30.

“It’s been a dream come true,” Eubanks said in his on-court interview about his recent rise. “I left probably in April, was on the road for 12 straight weeks, playing maybe 11 of them, and I had some ups and downs, but the ups came towards the end, and it’s going really well.

“I hope to keep it going.”

Eubanks is also playing his first ATP hard-court event since Miami, where he reached the quarterfinals.

Eubanks is also playing his first ATP hard-court event since Miami, where he reached the quarterfinals.

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For Eubanks, playing in Atlanta this week is more than special—he wasn’t just born there, he also played college tennis there at Georgia Tech from 2015 to 2017. He also reached the first ATP quarterfinal of his career there as a No. 461-ranked wild card in 2017.

“My entire life of tennis has kind of been centered around the city of Atlanta. From the very first time I picked up a ball to my first junior tournament to the very first match I played in college. So there’s a lot of memories there,” he told ATPTour.com coming into the tournament.

“It’s always exciting playing in Atlanta, because I’ve always played well. I’ve had some of my best moments here as a professional and as a college player, even in juniors. I think the conditions suit my game well, so I’m just excited to get out there and play tomorrow.”

After his opening win over Martin, Eubanks will face another countryman in the second round in Brandon Nakashima. Nakashima has won two of their three career meetings below tour-level, but this will be their first time playing each other in a tour-level match.