Christopher Eubanks hoping to ‘ride this momentum out’ as his dream Wimbledon run comes to an end

CNN

By George Ramsay, CNN

(CNN) — Christopher Eubanks’ thrilling run at Wimbledon has come to an end, but the American tennis star wants to keep riding the wave of his recent success.

This was Eubanks’ first-ever appearance in the Wimbledon main draw and came just a year after he took up a commentating job with the Tennis Channel amid doubts about the future of his playing career.

The 27-year-old defeated fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and home favorite Cameron Norrie on his way to the quarterfinals, where he eventually succumbed to world No. 3 Daniil Medvedev in five sets.

“I’m just enjoying myself,” Eubanks told reporters as his improbable run came to an end. “I’m having a great time. 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.”

Eubanks’ sensational grass-court season included winning his first ATP Tour title in Mallorca prior to Wimbledon.

He only broke into the top 100 earlier this year but on Thursday, ranked No. 43 in the world, came within a set of reaching the semifinals of a grand slam having never previously progressed beyond the second round.

“It just gives me added confidence in my ability that I know I can compete with some of the best players in the world,” said Eubanks, “whereas maybe I didn’t fully know or believe that before.”

Against Medvedev, Eubanks hardly seemed like a player competing in his first grand slam quarterfinal. After losing the first set, he upped his intensity and played with a fearlessness that belied the enormity of the occasion.

Winning seven games in a row between the second and third sets, Eubanks finished the match with 74 winners to Medvedev’s 52. It was his unforced error count – 55 to the Russian’s 13 – that ultimately proved costly, particularly as his level dropped in the final set.

“I’m okay with living and dying by the mistakes,” Eubanks said. “There are going to be days where I have a high unforced error count. I know that comes with the game style, and I’m okay with that.”

Speaking on CNN This Morning on Thursday, Eubanks said that his phone had been on ‘do not disturb’ while he was competing at Wimbledon. But after his match against Medvedev, he was suddenly inundated with hundreds of messages of support.

“I think things are going to be a little bit different when I get back state-side, and honestly, I’m pretty excited about it,” Eubanks said, adding that the warm applause he received as he left the court was “surreal.”

“It’s something that you dream of as a kid growing up, watching Wimbledon on TV saying: ‘Man, I hope to be there one day,’” he continued.

“It’s a bit emotional just being able to rewatch it again. It’s really special, it’s something that I’ll never forget. I can’t wait to just try to use this momentum that I have now and this confidence … in the US summer swing leading up to the US Open.”

Speaking to reporters, Eubanks was careful not to lay out his specific goals beyond Wimbledon. He is set to climb to No. 31 in the world rankings and will enjoy what is surely the biggest payday of his career, collecting $444,000 (£340,000) for reaching the quarterfinals.

“I think that if I can continue to have the joy that I had on court for these past three weeks, continue to work as hard as I’ve been doing over the past year, 12 months, I think good things are going to happen and it’s kind of going to take care of itself,” said Eubanks.

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