By HOWARD FENDRICH AP Tennis Writer
Share this story

WIMBLEDON, England — Until about a week ago, even Chris Eubanks did not really believe he was capable of this sort of thing — of beating the world’s best tennis players at Wimbledon, of reaching the quarterfinals at any Grand Slam tournament, of winning match after match after match on grass courts.

“I would show up to tour events saying, ‘Oh, can I get through a couple rounds of here?’” he said during an interview the day before play began at the All England Club. “Now I genuinely can say, probably for the first time, I’m showing up to tournaments with higher expectations and really wanting to do well and put my best foot forward. I’m no longer feeling OK just being there. I know that I belong.”

ADVERTISING

Does he ever.

Eubanks, a 6-foot-7, big-serving American making his Wimbledon debut at age 27 right after claiming the first ATP title of his career, reached the quarterfinals at a major for the first time by stunning two-time Slam runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 in a little over three hours on Monday.

“It’s surreal. I can’t really describe it,” said Eubanks, who is from Atlanta and played college tennis at Georgia Tech.

“I just think the entire experience, all together, has just been a whirlwind. It’s been something that you dream about,” Eubanks said. “I didn’t really know if that dream would actually come true. I’m sitting here in it now, so it’s pretty cool.”

He is ranked a career-best 43rd right now and had a win-loss record of merely 6-10 before going on the run to the trophy at Mallorca, Spain, on July 1. That came on grass, which he decided he hated a month ago — calling it “the stupidest surface” in a text he sent to International Tennis Hall of Fame member Kim Clijsters — after exiting in the second round at a low-level ATP Challenger Tour event.

“Those words will never come out of my mouth for the rest of my career. The grass and I, we’ve had a very strenuous, I would say, relationship over the years,” Eubanks said after accumulating 53 winners, 16 more than Tsitsipas. “But right now, I think it’s my best friend.”

He is now on a nine-match winning streak after adding the upset of the No. 5-seeded Tsitsipas to an earlier victory over No. 12 Cam Norrie at the All England Club. Next comes another challenge, meeting No. 3 Daniil Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champion, for a berth in the semifinals.

“I know I need to be at my 100% and absolute best physically, tennis-wise, and mentally to try to beat him,” said Medvedev.