London [UK], July 10 : Continuing his impressive performance on the grass court, Christopher Eubanks showed no signs of slowing down as he pulled off a stunning upset against fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, advancing to the quarterfinals of Wimbledon 2023.
Eubanks defeated the Greek 3-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a match controlled by serves and short, crisp rallies to secure his ninth straight tour-level victory.
"I feel like I'm living a dream right now. This is absolutely insane. When you paint all of the context... I've tried so much to just block everything out and focus on the next match, as cliche as it sounds, but [reaching my first major quarter-final] is surreal. I can't believe it," said an elated Eubanks in his on-court interview as quoted by ATP.com.
Eubanks' ability to be ruthless with his opportunities on return was crucial to his victory on No. 2 Court. After Tsitsipas double-faulted to give him the winning break in the ninth game of the fourth set, the American, who had not earned a single break point in the first three sets, twice powered clean backhand down-the-line winners to convert break points in the decider, capping a historic three-hour, four-minute victory.
"The funny thing about tennis is that you're not always going to play your best. You've just got to play really good at certain times, and I feel like I did that really well today all around," said Eubanks.
"When it came to really important times, I feel like I executed really clearly, and I played well. I feel like I had ups and downs, which you can imagine [playing] for the first time in the fourth round of a Slam, but I came up clutch when I needed to," he added.
In their first Lexus ATP Head2Head match, Tsitsipas came out swinging behind his serve, making a victory for Eubanks earlier seem impossible. The Greek only gave up nine points on serve in the first and second sets, but a crucial double fault by Eubanks at 3/4 of the second-set tie-break allowed the match to be tied at one set apiece.
Unfazed by that setback, Tsitsipas once more asserted himself with a commanding third-set performance in which his serve and enormous forehand combined to overwhelm Eubanks. However, the American showed great tenacity to hold off the World No. 5, as another double fault by Tsitsipas at 4-5, 30/40 forced a decider.
It was Eubanks who best tapped into the wild energy, with a captive audience savouring every moment. Both of his backhand breaks in the first and seventh games, as well as the crushing forehand winner he hit on match point to clinch his first Top 5 victory, demonstrated his recent rise in self-assurance on grass.
"The grass and I have had a very strenuous, I would say, relationship over the years. But right now, I think it's my best friend," said Eubanks.
The American will next take on third seed Daniil Medvedev.
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