Yet another Grand Slam event was looking grim for the American men, who haven’t claimed a title at a tennis major in just about two decades.
Early-round losses by Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Sebastian Korda during the first week at Wimbledon figured to extend that skid by the U.S. men in majors since Andy Roddick won the U.S. Open in 2003.
Certainly, few were expecting unheralded Christopher Eubanks to make that sort of challenge, but the 6-foot-7 Atlanta native stormed into the quarterfinals with a stirring five-set ouster Monday of No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The 27-year-old Eubanks, who defeated British fan favorite Cam Norrie in the second round, will face third-seeded Daniil Medvedev in the quarters on Wednesday.
The former Georgia Tech player never had advanced past the second round at any Grand Slam event.
“Dream come true. Yeah, it’s tough to really put into words, but to be able to come out and play the way that I did, just kind of taking everything in, it’s surreal,” Eubanks said after Monday’s match. “I can’t really describe it. I just think the entire experience all together has just been a whirlwind. It’s been something that you dream about.”
Perhaps, even, like something out of a movie.
Eubanks previously was best known for serving as the body double for late tennis legend Arthur Ashe in the 2021 documentary “Citizen Ashe.”
On what would have been the iconic Ashe’s 80th birthday on Monday, Eubanks stunningly stepped out of the shadows and into a leading role. At Wimbledon.
“To be able to portray him in that documentary was really, really cool,” Eubanks said. “It was an experience not just doing film, which was a bit different, something I’d never done before, but also having to do the research that I did, having to go back and watch old films to try to get the technique down. Also watching tons of interviews of him just to try to learn his demeanor, his perspective on things, his philosophy, how important education was.
“So many different things that it challenged me. But it was also super, super rewarding when I got to see the final project. It was something that I take great pride in, and I’m excited I was selected to be able to do it.”
In 1975, Ashe became the first African-American man to win a Wimbledon championship, defeating Jimmy Connors in the finals.
Nearly 50 years later, Eubanks still has a chance to become the second.
Medvedev, the 2021 U.S. Open champ, also is in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon for the first time.
Jessica Pegula and Madison Keys are representing America in the women’s quarters.
“I think I’ve been able to find a way to compartmentalize everything, realize this is a pretty big moment, but also saying, ‘This is a tennis match that I need to play in a couple days,'” said Eubanks, who also has worked as an analyst on Tennis Channel. “I think for today, I’m going to really enjoy this — really, really enjoy it. Just think back on it, realize how surreal it is, how crazy it is.
“Very well could have been first round Wimbledon, second round. It just so happened that we’re going to be in the quarterfinals, which is a big stage. At the same time when we get out there, it’s still just a tennis match. I think at this stage of my career, I do a better job of looking at each match as a tennis match, not considering the moment as much as I used to earlier in my career.”
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Like it or not, the NBA In-Season Tournament is coming, so let’s clear up some of the misconceptions about the competition that commissioner Adam Silver has been kicking around for years and finally will implement this fall.
If you want to view this as a money grab or an attempted ratings boost for the league’s sliding TV numbers, well, of course that’s what it is.
But notably, the league isn’t being shut down to accommodate these games. They will be built into what still will be an 82-game schedule for all but the two teams that advance to the championship game.
The finalists will play an 83rd game for the chance at lifting the trophy — plus up to $500,000 per player out of a total prize pool of roughly $18 million.
In all but the title game, which will be held in Las Vegas on Dec. 9, the outcomes and statistics will count towards the league standings.
That makes it different from what we see in European soccer, such as in the FA Cup featuring the English Premier League and lower-tier teams (though Manchester City did pull off the “treble” of winning the EPL title, the FA Cup and the more prestigious UEFA Champions League this past season).
For now, the 30 NBA teams have been split up into six five-team groups for the group stage. The Knicks will face the Bucks, Heat, Wizards and Hornets. The Nets are in a group with the Celtics, Raptors, Bulls and Magic.
Those matchups will begin in November, and the other scheduling specifics will be determined after the group-stage games are completed.
Victor Wembanyama’s Summer League experience has ended after two games and the expected media circus that enveloped him over the past week in Las Vegas.
From the Britney Spears slap controversy to widespread dissection of his initial on-court results, it’s easy to see why the 7-foot-4 French wunderkind said Monday he plans to “disappear from the media” for the rest of the offseason following a deep playoff run with his French club team ahead of the NBA Draft.
Enjoy the rest of your summer, Wemby.
But as the most-hyped prospect since LeBron James, the 19-year-old big man will continue to garner vast interest and scrutiny once he reports for his first training camp with Gregg Popovich and the Spurs and embarks on his NBA career.