It might be an age since the British contingent bowed out in the singles at Wimbledon but Chris Eubanks has stepped up to become an honorary Brit.
Unheard of on these shores a few days ago, the 6ft 7in, big-serving American has become a firm favourite with the home fans on his surprise run to the quarter-finals.
Asked if he felt like an honorary Brit even despite knocking out Cameron Norrie, he said: “Yeah, I think so. That’s pretty fair to say. The fans here have really, really been behind me. Even in my match against Cam… I felt like when I had good moments, they applauded and enjoyed good qualify tennis.
“I think since then, they’ve really, really gotten behind me this entire week. Yeah, I do feel a little bit like an honorary Brit and I hope they come in the quarter-finals and show me a little bit more support.”
At 27, Eubanks is something of a late bloomer. Never before had he made it past the second round of a grand slam and, after exiting at that stage at the Surbiton Trophy last month, he sent a despairing message to Kim Clijsters saying, “Kim, grass is the stupidest surface to play tennis on”.
She advised him to do more footwork drills and he duly obliged. He has not lost a tennis match on grass since, winning the Mallorca Open and now facing Daniil Medvedev with a place in the semi-finals at stake. As a result, he now calls the grass his “best friend”. He will also been encroaching on the world’s top 30 too having only recently cracked the top 100 for the first time in his career.
There are no shortage of tennis stars to advise him. Coco Gauff has been in his box at Wimbledon and Naomi Osaka has been another sounding board.
What was their primary advice? “They’ve been saying for a long time that they feel like I belong at this level,” he said. “For a long time, I questioned whether or not I was consistent enough to play at this level. When I’m around them, to hear them talk about their belief, it’s a bit infectious. It does rub off on you.”
The son of a Baptist preacher who enjoyed playing tennis, he put a racket in his son’s hands almost around the same time he began to walk.
It has taken time for his career to take off to the extent that he has a sideline working as a tennis TV analyst, relatively unheard of among active players. It is a role he plans to continue even amid this breakthrough season.
Facing Medvedev on Court 1 today will be a step-up for a player nicknamed toothpick, giraffe and daddy long legs by his American countrymen and women.
For now, he is taking everything in his stride. Of the prospect of Medvedev, he said simply: “I’m not worried about it.”
