Americans love a good fairytale, especially when they return for their annual jaunt across the Atlantic, loaded with empty suitcases for a spot of shopping at Harrods and with expectations that one of their young unknowns can conquer the summer grass of Wimbledon. This year they have another gilded memory to take home and their new hero is the big man from nowhere, Chris Eubanks.
Four years ago, it was the 15-year-old Coco Gauff who won a million hearts and three matches before Simona Halep stopped her in straight sets. This year, Eubanks, 12 years older than Gauff but equally amiable, a boom-crash debutant from Georgia with a game as big as his smile, also delivered for his compatriots three times.
Then, to the surprise of everyone from Athens to Atlanta, he went one further on this mild Monday afternoon to reach the quarter-finals of a grand slam tournament for the first time, overpowering the hitherto indefatigable Stefanos Tsitsipas over five sets on No 2 Court, winning 3-6, 7-6 (4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, in a tick beyond three hours.
“I feel like I’m living a dream right now,” the popular winner said courtside. “This is absolutely insane. I can’t believe it. The funny thing about tennis is you’re not always going to play your best, you just have to play well at certain times and I think I did that today. I came up when I needed to.
“This has been a dream come true, but it was really tough. The grass and I have had a strenuous relationship over the years but right now it’s my best friend.”
It was a victory to stir the emotions, lift the tournament and inspire dreaming among the beaming Americans cheering him on. A tennis player by accident since befriending Donald Young – who was already a top-100 professional when his parents opened a centre in their Atlanta neighbourhood – Eubanks has arrived in the big time almost unnoticed, no mean feat for a man standing 6ft 7in with the wingspan of an eagle and a personality that could charm bees from a buttercup.
He came to the fourth round with expectations built on a winning streak of eight matches that began in Mallorca last month, where he won at Tour level for the first time, form he sustained in the first week of these championships by overcoming Thiago Monteiro, a fellow outrider, then the 12th seed, Cameron Norrie, and the Australian Chris O’Connell.
When the knockout blow arrived, it did so with the attritional weight once delivered in the ring by his near-namesake from Brighton. A tennis crowd may be the easiest audience in sports entertainment, but these combatants deserved each clap and “ooh, aah”, Eubanks conducting the ebb and flow of their appreciation with all the arm-waving skill of Simon Rattle. He was Nick Kyrgios without the attitude.
Tsitsipas, the Greek enigma who has played on every day of the tournament in either singles or doubles, and had to dig deep to beat Andy Murray over four hours and 40 minutes two days earlier, occasionally reminded Eubanks why there are 38 places between them in the world rankings. But, ultimately, the workload took its toll.
Tsitsipas joked beforehand that it was just as well that the injured Paula Badosa withdrew from their mixed doubles campaign. “Mixed is not a thing any more,” he said, when asked how he felt being the only player in a very long time to contemplate playing in all three disciplines. “Thank God. I prefer to live.”
What he endured on Monday was part of his living, certainly, but did not look as enjoyable for Tsitsipas as it did for Eubanks, who swung from the hip as soon as he found a rhythm. Nerves rattled through his serving arm at the start, however, and 14 unforced errors gifted his seasoned foe the first set.
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The second was meandering along vaguely similar lines until Tsitsipas faltered in the tie-break and Eubanks levelled, holding his nerve and serve against an opponent who was now wondering how much he had left in the tank.
They engaged in old-fashioned slugging in the third and it was Tsitsipas who blinked first, Eubanks surging to a peak as he rattled up the aces and winners, with the occasional deft tap to short range. Tsitsipas found his second win in the fourth and the good money flowed back his way, before Eubanks came again at just the right moment, rounding it out with a well-placed serve at 117mph to level at two sets apiece.
It was almost perfect drama: the prize available for the last man standing. Eubanks made the perfect start, breaking in the opening game and holding to 30. Tsitsipas was on the ropes and Eubanks pummelled him to love for 3-1, hurting him with his 53rd unreturned serve, a 129mph ace down the middle, his 11th of the match and 83rd of the tournament. Soon enough, he would pass Alexander Bublik at the top of the table.
Visibly tiring, Tsitsipas was finding the net more than the court, off the ground and with ball in hand. He fashioned a timely counter to break only to hand it straight back. Eubanks aced again and Tsitsipas needed to hold to stay in the championships. On leaden legs and thrashing air with rubber arms, he found an ace for 40-30 and hung on.
They had been playing barely three hours, but it seemed longer when Eubanks stepped up to serve for the match. He miscued a backhand: 0-15. Tsitsipas failed to reach a 91mph forehand: 15-15; a tapped volley: 30-15; Eubanks made a hash of a smash: 30-all. He swiped a lazy backhand wide: 30-40. Tsitsipas hit long from deep: deuce. Eubanks butchered the easiest of open-court forehands: advantage to Tsitsipas. The Greek netted from the baseline: deuce. Eubanks sent down an ace for the 13th time: match point. And a booming forehand finished the job. What a win. What a fairytale.
