American tennis player Christopher Eubanks has been grabbing the headlines lately. He has emerged as a dark horse at this year’s Wimbledon Championships, causing quite a few upsets.
Reflecting on his performances, the 27-year-old player credited fellow American Coco Gauff and former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka. He has known the two of them since some time. Being in their company overtime, the confidence those two athletes have rubbed onto Eubanks.
Words of Wisdom From Osaka & Gauff
Osaka and Gauff directed him to believe in his abilities. He never thought he had it in him to play consistently at the highest level, on the biggest stages. Eventually, Christopher began thinking on the same lines as the two women stars.
He remembered their words and stated,
“Being as close to Coco as I am … being good friends with Naomi, I’m around enough tennis players to be able to pick their brain, hear the way that they look at certain things. I think the biggest thing, it’s a common theme amongst both of them, they’ve been saying for a long time that they feel like I belong at this level.”
19-year-old Gauff crashed out of the Championships early on when she was knocked out by fellow American Sofia Kenin in the opening round. On the other hand, Naomi announced just before the Australian Open this year that she is expecting a child and will be out for the season.
Christopher Eubanks Will Remember These Days for Long
Speaking about the way Eubanks has competed at SW19 so far, he caused the first upset when he beat British favorite Cameron Norrie in the second round, winning 6-3, 3-6, 6-2, 7-6(3). That win did catch people’s attention amongst the tennis world.
Little did he know that the fairytale would continue when he defeated World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round. It was a seesaw battle with the American holding his nerve eventually, winning an epic battle in five sets 3-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4.
With that win, he has now entered the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time. He now faces another tough opponent in Daniil Medvedev. Christopher is having the time of his life, enjoying one of the most successful phases in his career. It will be interesting to see how he performs in this exciting duel.
