LONDON: American tennis player Christopher Eubanks has been a dressing room favorite for many years. His charismatic and bubbly personality has allowed him to forge deep friendships and relationships with players across the men’s and women’s tours and beyond.

Japan’s Naomi Osaka once attended an ATP event in Dallas to support Eubanks in his qualifying match, while Academy Award-winning actor Jamie Foxx was there to watch his amazing run to the quarter-finals of the recent Miami Open.

The 27-year-old is a figure people are drawn to, and as he enjoys the best Grand Slam series of his career at Wimbledon, the world is getting to know Eubanks for more than just his tennis buddy.

In the fourth round of a major tournament for the first time, Eubanks is on an eight-match winning streak, having lifted his first ATP title in Mallorca last week before picking up wins over Thiago Montero, British No. 1 Cameron Norrie, and Christopher O. Connell will reach the last 16 at Wimbledon.

His burgeoning serve saw him hit 72 aces over three matches at the All England Club this week – the highest tally among all opponents in these tournaments – and he won 93 per cent of his service matches, breaking just four in his 59.

After three years of studying and playing tennis at Georgia Tech, Eubanks turned pro at the end of 2017, and it took nearly six years before he made it into the top 100. in March. The Atlanta native sat on the bench after the win, fought back his tears, and let it all sink in. Teen star Coco Gauff was one of the first people to FaceTime after the match.

Three and a half months later, Eubanks will not only be a top 100 player, he will crack the top 40 thanks to a heroic turf drive that will pit him against world number 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the fourth round of Wimbledon.

It’s a great position to be in, given that Eubanks was considering an alternative career in 2021 after spending years swinging between 150 and 200 in the rankings.

He said, “I had a real sit down with my agent in 2021 and said, ‘Listen, if I’m still 200 by next year and injuries don’t play a part, I can do something else with my time. Rank 200″.

That conversation with his agent landed Eubanks in the Tennis Channel’s commentary booth in the spring of 2022, while he’s still working his way up the Challenge Tour.

He added, “I think now that doing the commentary has kind of helped me with my game, and it’s something I’m looking forward to continuing, no matter what my rank is.”

Commentary isn’t the only reason Eubanks is currently playing the best tennis of his life.

He said, “I’ve been more diligent with a lot of things. Warm-ups and rest periods and getting extra therapy for my body even if my body is okay. Those little minor things.

“On court it’s still very much the same. I still train the same way but I’m more diligent and I think the little details I’m starting to see make a big difference.

“I thought everything was really done on the court and in the gym. The other stuff, I was like, I’m fine, my body feels good, I don’t really need to see a physio because I feel so good, so why would I go out there? I’d rather go back and rest and watch tennis over My computer, so that was kind of my brain.

And he added: “I didn’t appreciate it, I didn’t appreciate it, I didn’t understand its importance, this is probably the most important thing.”

Eubanks got help in his game on grass from former world number one Kim Clijsters. After his first week playing on the surface in Surbiton, Eubanks – who befriended Clijsters during World Team Tennis two years ago – sent a text complaining about how much he struggled on the turf, how uneven rebounds were driving him crazy, and how ineffective his serve was. .

Clijsters, a Hall-of-Famer and four-time Grand Slam champion, gave him some tips on how to adapt to the turf, especially when it comes to movement, and the rest as they say is history. He is the winner of the title on grass and in the second week at Wimbledon.

Should Clijsters expect a commission now from Eubanks’ earnings for the past two weeks?

“Hey, if you ask, you’ll understand. It’s a big, big contributing factor to my belief in some success, just keeping my mind fresh and keeping me in spirits when I wasn’t,” he said.

Other conversations that helped cement Eubanks’ confidence were with world number 10 Francis Tiafoe, who himself broke through by discovering the power of discipline and attention to detail.

“Reflecting on a lot of my career especially after a few years abroad and still in Challengers, I wondered if I was good enough to be in the top 100 or not.

“My conversations with Francis were in line with what he had said to me and he liked hitting me on the head by saying like, ‘You’re good enough, you’re good enough, you’re good enough. “

He always reinforced the fact that he’s like, ‘No, you belong here, you’re good enough,'” Eubanks added.

With each victory Eubanks believed more in himself, and the key to his current success was keeping things simple.

“At the end of the day, it’s still tennis,” he said. “I’ve been playing tennis since I was two, so the lines are still the same, and the net is still the same height.”

“Being around as long as I’ve been around, the certain level of experience I think I had that even though I haven’t played at that level a lot, I’m still able to learn from past mistakes.”

One thing that will remain the same is Eubanks’ approach to life on tour. While others may prefer to stick to their teams and limit their interactions with their peers, Eubanks values ​​the relationships he builds along the way and has no intention of changing that.

“For me I think it’s huge. I mean everyone’s different. There are some guys on tour, I think whose focus is mainly on being the best tennis player they can be and winning as much as possible. There’s nothing wrong with that, they do it but they do it.

“For me, I’m still trying to be myself, not change and be something I’m not, like this person who is obsessed with winning at all costs.

“Of course, I want to win, everyone here wants to win, but for me I have to have fun, I have to have fun, I have to joke in the locker room. I have to do it to keep my head calm.

“If I come in and I’m so like, ‘I have to win, I have to win, I have to win,’ I don’t play well. I had this two weeks before Indian Wells when I lost in Acapulco and Monterrey, I was so focused on winning and getting into the top 100, I played terribly.” .

So, for me, I have to do what feels right. And if locker room banter and laughter and being myself helps me play tennis to the best of my ability, then I will.

“It’s not necessarily that I make a concerted effort to just be everybody’s friend, I just try to be myself, and if people like it, that’s great, if they don’t, that’s fine too, you’ll lose any sleep over it.”

As he prepares to face Tsitsipas in the last 16, have his feelings about grass changed compared to five weeks ago?

“At this point, I think the dividing line is I can say it’s my favorite surface,” he said.