Christopher Eubanks’ breakthrough season hit a new height on Thursday in Spain.

The American reached his first ATP Tour semi-final by defeating French lucky loser Arthur Rinderknech 7-6(5), 7-6(4) in the last eight of the Mallorca Championships.

“My serve really came up pretty clutch when I needed it to. I was broken twice today. It was the first time I think I was broken in the tournament, so I had to kind of regroup a little bit after that,” Eubanks said in his on-court interview. “But I was able to kind of regain my composure, get back to playing the way that I can play, playing aggressive, and I think it worked out in the end.

“As far as Mallorca, I’ve been able to get a lot of support here, which has been surprising, so I really appreciate you guys for coming out. I know some of the big names have gone on to Wimbledon, but for you guys to still come out in this type of heat and humidity to support us really means a lot.”

It was Eubanks’ third tour-level quarter-final and he took advantage of his opportunity on the grass. The 27-year-old hit 10 aces and won 82 per cent of his first-serve points to move on after one hour and 58 minutes.

Eubanks is up to a career-high No. 58 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and has an opportunity to continue climbing. At the beginning of the season, he was World No. 123 and had not yet broken into the Top 100.

Next up will be South African Lloyd Harris, whom Eubanks defeated in three sets last month at a hard-court ATP Challenger Tour event in Gwangju, South Korea.

“It’s going to be fun. Lloyd and I know each other pretty well. We actually played each other a few weeks ago in Korea in the first round of a Challenger,” Eubanks said. “So I think if you had told both of us that we’d be playing in the semi-finals of a 250, we both would take it.”

Harris, a qualifier, eliminated lucky loser Pavel Kotov 7-5, 6-2. The former World No. 31 will try to reach his first ATP Tour final since Dubai in 2021.

Top seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin booked their ticket to the semi-finals Wednesday at the Mallorca Championships.

The Mexican-French duo downed Francisco Cabral and Rafael Matos 6-3, 7-6(3) after one hour, 22 minutes. Gonzalez and Roger-Vasselin, who collected titles in Marseille and Miami earlier this season, will next face Yuki Bhambri and Lloyd Harris after the Indian-South African team ousted fourth seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-4, 6-4.

Americans Nathaniel Lammons and Jackson Withrow also reached the last four in Mallorca, where they survived second seeds Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 4-6, 6-3, 10-8. In second-round action, Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni escaped Marcelo Melo and John Peers 7-6(5), 3-6, 10-5.

Top Two Seeds Advance In Eastbourne
Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek defeated home favourites Liam Broady and Jonny O’Mara 6-4, 6-4 to extend their 12-match winning streak and the reach the semi-finals of the Rothesay International. The Croatian-American pair triumphed at Roland Garros and last week at The Queen’s Club.

Second seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury eased past Romain Arneodo and Sam Weissborn 6-1, 6-2 after winning 19 of 21 first-serve points. Fourth seeds Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic also advanced after beating Gonzalo Escobar and Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-4, 6-4.

Australians Matthew Ebden and John-Patrick Smith rallied to upset third seeds Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski 4-6, 6-3, 10-7.

Taro Daniel is one win from earning his way into the Wimbledon main draw. The Japanese star advanced to the final round of qualifying on Wednesday when he defeated Luca Nardi 6-3, 6-3.

Daniel has competed in the main draw at SW19 four times. The 30-year-old reached the second round at Roland Garros and the quarter-finals in Acapulco earlier this year.

Former World No. 10 Lucas Pouille won his second consecutive three-setter 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-3 against Giulio Zeppieri to make the final round of qualifying. Third seed Fabian Marozsan, who stunned Carlos Alcaraz in Rome, eliminated Elias Ymer 6-3, 7-6(1).

Denis Kudla, who advanced to the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2015, beat Tung-Lin Wu 6-3, 6-4 and another American, Michael Mmoh, defeated Dragos Nicolae Madaras 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

Watch Mmoh Travel Like A Pro Feature:

Two 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals competitors also moved on. Top seed Matteo Arnaldi beat countryman Federico Gaio 7-6(5), 6-4 and 10th seed Dominic Stricker eased past Juan Pablo Ficovich 6-4, 6-3.

In other action, #NextGenATP Serbian Hamad Medjedovic battled past Ricardas Berankis 7-6(2), 6-7(2), 6-4 and fifth seed Radu Albot rallied past Johannus Monday 3-6, 7-6(2), 6-2.

Marin Cilic on Wednesday announced his withdrawal from Wimbledon as he continues his recovery from a right knee injury he suffered at the beginning of the season.

The Croatian reached the final at The Championships in 2017. Cilic owns a 31-13 record at the grass-court major.

“I’m sad to be missing the grass season and especially Wimbledon; this is a highlight of the season for every tennis player, but I know how important it is not to rush the recovery process,” Cilic wrote on Instagram. Things have generally been going well the last few weeks with my post-surgery training so I’m staying positive and focused on my long-term recovery. 💪

“I hope that I’ll be competing very soon. I miss being on Tour, the tournaments and the fans, and I can’t wait to get back to all of that, to feel the thrill of stepping on court & competing. Until then, I’ll keep training and sharpening my motivation. Thanks for your continued support as always! 🙏🏼🎾”

 

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Cilic won his opening match of the season against Roberto Carballes Baena in Pune, but when he stepped on court to warm up for his next match, he felt pain in his right knee and withdrew from the tournament.

The Croatian has not played a match since. Cilic is currently No. 100 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

Yannick Hanfmann’s strong 2023 hit a new high Wednesday at the Mallorca Championships.

The German defeated top seed and defending champion Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-4, 3-6, 6-2 at the grass-court ATP 250 in Spain’s Balaeric Islands for the biggest win of his career. Hanfmann won 80 per cent (36/45) of points behind his first serve in a rock-solid performance to reach his first non-clay ATP Tour quarter-final.

“I think a lot of things have to work to beat a Top 10 player,” said Hanfmann after his win against the World No. 5. “I think I had a really good start. Maybe Stefanos was a little bit rusty in the conditions. With the wind and the grass it was not that easy, so maybe having a match already on the first day was really important.

“I served really well in all three sets. Just that one service game with two double faults, but overall I’m really happy with my performance.”

Biggest win of his career! 👊@YannickHanfmann takes out the defending champion in Mallorca, Stefanos Tsitsipas, 6-4 3-6 6-2 💪@MallorcaChamps | #MallorcaChampionships pic.twitter.com/RRcO6zg409

— ATP Tour (@atptour) June 28, 2023

Hanfmann broke Tsitsipas’ serve in the opening game of the match and two more times in the deciding set to seal his victory. The 31-year-old, who broke the Top 50 of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings on Monday, now holds a 16-9 record for 2023. He reached his maiden ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final in May in Madrid, a run that included Top 10 victories against Taylor Fritz and Andrey Rublev.

Now into the quarter-finals on Mallorca debut, Hanfmann will next take on Jordan Thompson or home favourite Feliciano Lopez, who is playing the final event of his 26-year ATP Tour career.

Christopher Eubanks also upset a seeded opponent to reach his first tour-level quarter-final on grass in Mallorca. The American downed his countryman Ben Shelton 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(2) in the pair’s maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. Eubanks hit 40 winners to Shelton’s 30 for a hard-earned two-hour, 43-minute triumph.

The 27-year-old Eubanks will next face Arthur Rinderknech, after the lucky loser defeated his fellow Frenchman Constant Lestienne 6-3, 6-2.