U.S. player Christopher Eubanks following his defeat against Russia's Daniil Medvedev at Wimbledon on July 12.GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images
Daniil Medvedev had two things going against him when he walked on to Court 1 at Wimbledon on Wednesday for his quarter-final match.
First, he’s Russian; not a popular nationality these days in Britain and even less so at Wimbledon, which only reluctantly let Russians and Belarusians play this year. Second, Medvedev was facing Christopher Eubanks, a lanky, unseeded American whose improbable run at The Championships had made him the biggest of underdogs, or at least one of the tallest at 6 feet 7 inches.
On paper this shouldn’t have been close.
Medvedev, 27, is ranked world No. 3 and he has a Grand Slam title under his belt. Eubanks, who is also 27, was barely in the top 100 four months ago and he’d never got beyond the second round of a Grand Slam since turning pro in 2017. This was his first appearance at Wimbledon, and he was so unsure that he called grass the “stupidest surface to play tennis on.”
Medvedev held his ground at the opening and took the first set 6-4 with relative ease. But then Eubanks slowly took control largely by negating Medvedev’s lethal serve and scoring a string of big forehand winners.
The American won the next two sets 6-1, 6-4 and suddenly it was Medvedev whose composure came into question. The Russian grew increasingly frustrated, and he was given a warning after pounding a ball into a wall near a cameraman. He nearly slammed his racquet into the ground after losing another point but thought better of it at the last minute.
The turning point came in the fourth set. With Eubanks two sets up and the crowd cheering him on, Medvedev dug deep into his well of experience and overpowered the American at 3-3 in the tiebreak. He went on to win the set 7-6 (4).
“I managed to step up my serve in the fourth set,” he explained afterward. “That’s what I was missing in the second and third. That was the key.”
From then on Eubanks visibly faded. He couldn’t overcome his many miscues and lost the fifth set 6-1, making two double faults in the final game. He ended the match with 55 unforced errors to go with 74 winners. Final score for Medvedev was 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1.
Medvedev moves on to the semi-final, the furthest he has gone at Wimbledon. He’ll face Carlos Alcaraz, who beat Holger Rune 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4 on Wednesday.
Eubanks left the court to such prolonged applause that it was hard to tell who had won. “They were, I think, behind me pretty strongly from the moment we stepped on court,” he said.
He leaves SW19 with a new fondness for grass and a brilliant future after years of struggle.
When he left Georgia Tech in 2017 to play tennis full-time, Eubanks had no idea that he would languish on the outer reaches of the tennis world and see his ranking hover between 220 and 150 for years. He got so fed up that he considered dropping the game to pursue his budding sideline career as a broadcaster on the Tennis Channel.
“There were definitely some low moments,” he told reporters this week. “I had a real sit-down with my agent in 2021 and I said, ‘Listen, if I’m still 200 by next year and injuries haven’t played a part, I can do something else with my time’.”
But then he won his first ATP tournament earlier this month in Spain and arrived at Wimbledon ranked 43rd in the world. He progressed through each round, knocking off 12th seed Cameron Norrie and fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas along the way.
Fans took to him instantly. They relished his aggressive playing style – he hit 321 winners during The Championships, which was a Wimbledon record – and they adored his on-court eccentricities such as spinning his racquet between points.
Eubanks tried to stay focused and not get too carried away by his progression through the rounds. Only once did he stop to acknowledge how far he had come. “I think this morning it did kind of sink in a little bit after I woke up,” he said Wednesday. “Just realizing that, man, I’m getting ready to play a Grand Slam quarter-final today. That’s really, really cool.”
His success has given him renewed confidence and a desire to take on the top players in the world. But he won’t get too far ahead of himself or take on any added pressure by setting lofty goals.
“I’m just enjoying myself. I’m having a great time,” he said. “I’m probably having the most fun I’ve ever had in playing tennis. I’m going to continue to try to ride this momentum out. We’re going to see where it takes me.”
Paul Waldie