“Insane, whirlwind, dream.”

Christopher Eubanks is living a ‘pinch-me’ moment at Wimbledon. The American booked his ticket to his first major quarter-final Monday when he upset World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas. The 27-year-old is finding out that his breakthrough at The All England Club comes with a few benefits outside of a spot in the last eight and a US$437,410 payday.

“Everything from realising that I have two credentials at Wimbledon for the rest of my life, to checking my phone and seeing my name as an ESPN alert, to realising how much I disliked grass at the beginning of the grass court season, to now look at where I am. There’s so many different ways I could go about it,” Eubanks said in his post-match press conference.

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

Eubanks’ rapid rise has been one of the stories of the season. He first cracked the Top 100 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in April, following a quarter-final run at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Miami and prior to arriving at his Wimbledon main-draw debut, the former Georgia Tech University standout lifted his maiden tour-level title at the Mallorca Championships. He has not slowed down.

Eubanks is riding a nine-match winning streak that hit a new high Monday when he earned the first Top-5 win of his career in a thrilling five-setter against Tsitsipas. The Atlanta-native’s deep run is even a surprise to himself.

“We’ve had to change hotel checkout dates a couple times, everything else has pretty much stayed the same,” Eubanks said. “Typically when I book hotels, especially at Slams… I’ll typically say, ‘Let’s book until Friday just because the cancellation policies can be tough. We’ll see what happens’. We had that happen. Moved it again to Monday.

“Then I believe yesterday or two days ago, we said, ‘Let’s just move it to next Friday just to see. If we have to move it one more time, we might just move it all the way to the end of the following week. That’s really the only logistical change that’s had to be made.”

At World No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, Eubanks stated that his breakthrough season can partially be credited to more belief in his game. WTA stars Coco Gauff and Naomi Osaka, who are close friends with Eubanks, helped inspire that self-confidence within the American.

“For a long time I questioned whether or not I was consistent enough to play at this level really consistently. I knew I could come out on any match and maybe light it up, could cause some guys some trouble,” Eubanks said. “I don’t know if I really believed I could put it together match after match after match against quality opponents.

“That’s something Coco has been telling me for a long time. Naomi even says the same thing. That’s kind of been the main thing of just reinforcing and instilling confidence, ‘Hey, you can play at this level, you just have to believe it!’ When I’m around them, to hear them talk about their belief, it’s a bit infectious. It does rub off on you.”

Eubanks will next look to avenge his Miami loss to Daniil Medvedev in the quarter-finals. But Wednesday’s match can wait for now. Eubanks wants to soak in every second of this dream that has turned into a reality.

“It’s a bit nuts right now. It’s crazy to see my social media feed that I’m just used to kind of going to, seeing it’s a lot of me,” Eubanks said. “I’m like, ‘What is this? This is weird’.

“But I think I’ve been able to find a way to compartmentalise everything, realise this is a pretty big moment, but also saying, ‘This is a tennis match that I need to play in a couple days’. I’m not too worried about it. I think for today I’m going to really, really enjoy this. Just think back on it, realise how surreal it is, how crazy it is.

“When tomorrow comes, it’s going to be another match. It’s going to be me stepping on court.”

Holger Rune broke new ground on Monday at Wimbledon, where he overcame Grigor Dimitrov 3-6, 7-6(6), 7-6(4), 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals at The Championships for the first time.

The 20-year-old Dane, who is making his second appearance on London’s lawns, rallied from a set and a break down to earn just his second Top 30 win on grass. In a heavy-hitting three-hour, 20-minute clash on Court 1, Rune struck with destructive power and was the more aggressive player in the two tie-breaks played. After sealing victory on his first match point, the sixth seed raised his arms and let out a roar.

“Today was a crazy match,” Rune said. “Grigor is an incredible player and he pushed me to the limit. We both pushed each other. I think it was a great match and a tough match.

“I fight until the end always. That is what I focus on, especially when I am in a tough situation. I tell myself that there is Wimbledon once a year, so I am going to fight so I have a chance to win.”

With his 37th tour-level win of the season, Rune became the second Danish man to advance to the last eight at Wimbledon, joining Kurt Nielsen (1953, 55 and 58). It is the third time Rune has reached this stage at a Slam, having enjoyed runs to the last eight at Roland Garros in 2022 and 2023.

The World No. 6, who survived a five-set thriller against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the third round, will continue the quest for his first major and second tour-level title of the season against World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz or 2021 finalist Matteo Berrettini.

Dimitrov was aiming to reach the quarter-finals at Wimbledon for just the second time in 13 appearances. The Bulgarian, who advanced to the last four in 2014, defeated World No. 10 Frances Tiafoe in the third round and has climbed three spots to No. 21 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings.

In a high-quality first Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting between the Dane and Bulgarian, little separated the pair on Court 1 for large periods. Rune struck 46 winners compared to 49 from Dimitrov, with a series of cat-and-mouse exchanges swinging one way and then the other.

The turning point came at the end of the third set, when Rune showed great courage in the tie-break to step into court and dictate, gaining the lead for the first time. He then earned the decisive break of the fourth set in the sixth game, when Dimitrov double-faulted on break point down.

Did You Know?
Rune earned his first tour-level win on grass last month at The Queen’s Club where he reached the semi-finals.

Roman Safiullin came into Wimbledon as World No. 92 with just six match wins on the season. It made sense that he wouldn’t be staying at the Ritz-Carlton.

If we’re being generous, his budget hotel, about a 30-minute drive to The All England Club, can be described as ’boutique’. There’s barely room on the floor to plonk a tennis bag and certainly no gym for stretching.

Yet it seems to be working for the reserved 25-year-old. Despite a guaranteed pay day of around US$435,000 by reaching the Wimbledon quarter-finals on debut, Safiullin isn’t ready to break with his routine and upgrade to a hotel with more spacious rooms and better amenities.

“Why should I change it? Nice hotel. Of course it’s not like five stars, but I like the bed,” he said. “Everything for me fits. It’s not so far actually to go and not so much traffic. Why should I change it?”

The hotel nicely matches Safiullin’s low-key personality and workmanlike game. But after defeating Denis Shapovalov in the fourth round Sunday to set a quarter-final clash with eighth seed Jannik Sinner, Safiullin is looking to upgrade his career to a new tier by becoming a Grand Slam semi-finalist… or better.

He’s also looking to atone for a mix of bad planning and bad fortune that saw him sit out Roland Garros.

“I forgot to enter the qualies to Roland Garros because I had the match against Zapata [at the Mutua Madrid Open], and I completely forgot that I needed to enter and I was not entering in advance,” he said.

“I stayed first out for [Roland Garros] main draw. But as it turned out I got injured in Rome, and [withdrew] from Geneva, so I wouldn’t have been fit to play qualies anyway.”

He didn’t plan it this way, but missing Roland Garros turned out to be a positive development for his Wimbledon chances. He played all three weeks of the lead-in grass-court season, building on an inauspicious start in Stuttgart (a first-round qualifying loss to World No. 295 Benjamin Hassan).

He qualified in Halle with strong wins over Benjamin Bonzi and Aslan Karatsev, before falling to German Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round. He also came through the qualifying rounds in Mallorca, before falling to eventual finalist Lloyd Harris in the quarter-finals. That gave him eight grass-court matches heading into Wimbledon.

“I played all the grass tournaments leading in. I didn’t do really well on some of them, but a little bit, step by step, I was getting the game on the grass court,” Safiullin said. “Here, adapt a little bit, because here is different on grass than in Halle or Mallorca and adapt a little bit the game and play now in quarter-final.”

Safiullin is a late bloomer. On the ITF junior circuit he had wins over Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev and Karen Khachanov, who all have cracked the Top 10. But his own rise – this week to No. 43 in the Pepperstone Live ATP Rankings (and Top 30 if he beats Sinner) – has taken time, due in part to a serious injury he sustained shortly after winning the 2015 Australian Open boys’ championships.

“My biggest injury, it was after Australian Open junior championship,” he said. “It was a shoulder and it takes long time to recover. Then after I recover, I got another injury with my right ankle.

“It takes a lot of time to get back on track. For some people maybe shorter; for some people like me, longer.”

Safiullin has played Sinner once before, at the 2022 ATP Cup. Back then he was ranked 167 and Sinner was already in the Top 10. Punching above his weight, Safiullin was highly competitive before falling 7-6(6), 6-3.

“That was basically my first experience to play against Top 10 player,” he said. “It was really tough one for me. Especially in the first set I remember I made some problems for him, so I hope to make also some good notes from that match and to improve the tactic and my performance for the next match.

“It’s hard to realise that I made it to quarter-finals, especially on my first Wimbledon main draw. I didn’t play a lot in my career on the grass court, so I’m really happy that I could make it and hopefully I could make it more.”

Indoors or outdoors, no matter the conditions, returning Hubert Hurkacz’s serve remains one of the biggest challenges in the grass-court game.

Novak Djokovic nonetheless found a way to blunt the Pole’s booming delivery and seal fourth-round victory on Monday at Wimbledon, where Hurkacz sent down 33 aces but was unable to deny the seven-time champion in a match that began on Sunday evening in London.

“[It was] kind of two different matches: last night and today,” said Djokovic, who had led Hurkacz by two sets to love overnight before wrapping a 7-6(6), 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4 win. “Completely different conditions. Playing under the was roof more humid, more slippery. Obviously, no wind. A bit easier for the rhythm for the serve. At the same time, it was a bit slower from the back of the court.

“Today, completely different. Very, very windy. Difficult to get the rhythm and tempo on the toss. It didn’t seem to affect him much.

“I thought maybe that could be my chance to start reading his serve a bit better. That wasn’t the case. He was serving incredibly well. I don’t recall being so helpless on the return games, to be honest. I knew that he’s a big server and he’s a fantastic player on the grass particularly, but I didn’t expect him to serve this well and this accurately. Credit to him.”

Djokovic was visibly frustrated after dropping the third set to an opponent who had not, at that point, dropped serve at this year’s Wimbledon. The World No. 2 regained his composure in trademark fashion on Centre Court, finally breaking through against Hurkacz’s delivery in the seventh game of the fourth set before serving out for his win.

“I go through my moments,” said Djokovic, when asked about his mental battle as Hurkacz threatened a comeback. “I think in matches like this, where you don’t have many chances at all in the service games of your opponent, when they’re presented and you don’t use them, then obviously the pressure builds up.

“I don’t have as strong a serve as Hurkacz. I had to probably work a bit more for my service games, and I knew that. Eventually that pressure that builds up just goes out.

“I was frustrated the way I played the last game of the third set. Also credit to him, he played a really, really good game. I was a bit passive, and the set was gone. I liked my chances going into a tie-break in the third set. That’s why I was, of course, more frustrated.”

Djokovic’s resolve earned him a quarter-final clash with Andrey Rublev at the grass-court major, where he has now won 32 consecutive matches. The Serbian heads into that clash with a 3-1 Lexus ATP Head2Head series lead against Rublev, but is more than aware of what the seventh seed will bring to court.

“Andrey Rublev is a fantastic player who’s got one of the best forehands in the game,” said Djokovic. “He brings a lot of intensity to the court with his grunts. He kind of scares off his opponents across the net. He’s an extremely nice guy and works as hard as anybody out there to be a Top 10 player, which he has been for the last several years. He’s one of the most consistent players on all surfaces. I have lots of respect for him.

“I was surprised that he has actually never reached the semi-finals of a Grand Slam, which obviously will serve as a motivation more for him tomorrow, to be inspired, and play his best tennis.”

Christopher Eubanks’ red-hot run on the grass shows little sign of abating at Wimbledon.

The American held his nerve to upset fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 on Monday and reach his maiden major quarter-final at SW19. Eubanks, who lifted his first ATP Tour title in Mallorca prior to Wimbledon, prevailed against the Greek in a serve-dominated encounter defined by short, sharp rallies to seal his ninth consecutive tour-level win.

“I feel like I’m living a dream right now. This is absolutely insane,” said an elated Eubanks in his on-court interview. “When you paint all of the context… I’ve tried so much to just block everything out and focus on the next match, as cliché as it sounds, but [reaching my first major quarter-final] is surreal. I can’t believe it.”

What it’s all about 🫶@chris_eubanks96 defeats No.5 seed Tsitsipas 3-6, 7-6(4), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4 to advance into the quarter-finals! Wimbledon?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Wimbledon | #Wimbeldon

pic.twitter.com/VKcCSCNHQu

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 10, 2023

The key to Eubanks’ victory on No. 2 Court was his ability to be clinical with his chances on return. He did not carve out a single break point in the first three sets, but after Tsitsipas double faulted to gift him the decisive break in the ninth game of the fourth set, the American twice powered clean backhand down-the-line winners to convert break points in the decider as he wrapped a famous three-hour, four-minute triumph.

“The funny thing about tennis is that you’re not always going to play your best,” said Eubanks. “You’ve just got to play really good at certain times, and I feel like I did that really well today all around.

“When it came to really important times, I feel like I executed really clearly, and I played well. I feel like I had ups and downs, which you can imagine [playing] for the first time in the fourth round of a Slam, but I came up clutch when I needed to.”

After Roman Safiullin also reached the last eight in London, Eubanks’ victory marked the first time in the Open Era that multiple Wimbledon debutants have reached the men’s singles quarter-finals. The American will next take on third seed Daniil Medvedev, who earlier led his fourth-round clash against Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-2 when the Czech retired due to injury.

A Eubanks win had earlier appeared unlikely after Tsitsipas came out firing behind his delivery in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. The Greek dropped just nine points on serve across the first and second sets, but a double fault at 3/4 in the second-set tie-break proved pivotal as Eubanks levelled the match at one set all.

Undeterred by that disappointment, Tsitsipas again assumed control with a dominant third-set display, as his serve and huge forehand worked in sync to overpower Eubanks. Yet the American showcased plenty of resilience to stick with the World No. 5, and another Tsitsipas double fault at 4-5, 30/40 sent the match to a decider.

With an enraptured crowd relishing every point, it was Eubanks who channelled the raucous atmosphere most effectively. His backhands to break in both the first and seventh games reflected his recent surge of self-belief on grass, as did the crushing forehand winner he delivered on match point to seal his maiden Top 5 triumph.

“The grass and I have had a very strenuous, I would say, relationship over the years,” said Eubanks. “But right now, I think it’s my best friend.”