Bill Simons
Wimbledon
EUBANKS SOARS EVEN HIGHER: Do you know how to spell B-R-E-A-K-T-H-R-O-U-G-H? Chris Eubanks does.
After all, let’s be blunt. For years Eubanks’s career had kind of gone nowhere fast. His ranking was a triple digit kind of thing. Truth be told, he was more famous for playing Arthur Ashe in a movie (that’s cool) and for being a Tennis Channel broadcaster (that’s high profile).
But now the big 6’ 7” man is making big waves on court. Not only did he win the Mallorca Championship a week ago, he downed Britain’s top player Cam Norrie yesterday. Today the 27-year-old continued his stunning surge by downing Aussie Chris O’Connell 7-6(5), 7-6(3), 7-6(2) to reach the fourth round.
Not surprisingly, Eubanks is drawing rave reviews. Daniil Medvedev gushed, “His game is total tennis. He’s not afraid of anything. Now he has consistency. He’s going to be a player to beat for many years. But we will see.”
The popular Atlantan is into the second week of a Slam and will be in the top 40. He’ll soon have a chance to score the biggest win of his career in his next match, when he plays No. 5 seed, Stefanos Tsitsipas.
SIGN OF THE DAY: “Came for Andy, Settled for Matteo”
ME TOO: After a reporter pointed out to Carlos Alcaraz that most everyone wanted to see him and Djokovic play in the final, the Spaniard replied, “Me too.”
THERE’S A KIND OF HUSH ALL OVER THE WIMBLEDON WORLD: “Love match! Wimbledon is awash with star duos, including Ukrainian Elina Svitolina and France’s Gael Monfils, who are married and have a child. Tsistidosa – Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa – are the sport’s hottest new couple. Americans Madison Keys and Bjorn Fratangelo are engaged and have a wedding planner. Britain’s Katie Boulter and Aussie Alex De Minaur have the longest distance relationship. Russian Daria Gavrilova, who is now Daria Saville, became an Aussie in part because of her husband, the ATP’s Luke Saville.
Not to rain on this romantic scene, but Inside Tennis’s statistics team noted that of the above group, only Tsitsipas has reached a Slam final. Stefanie Graf and her husband Andre Agassi won 30 Slams (and their son Jaden is a considerable USC pitcher).
MIRRA, MIRRA IN THE DRAW, WHO’S THE GREATEST PHENOM OF THEM ALL? Teen sensation Mirra Andreeva, who reached the third round at the French Open, is making a deep run at Wimbledon. Her fellow Russian Daniil Medvedev said, “What she’s doing at 16 years old is just exceptional. It’s one thing to play good tennis. It’s another thing to win these matches back to back…That’s amazing…she seems like a very big thing coming.”
QUOTEBOOK:
“We’re a couple of old guys.” – Novak Djokovic, 36, on himself and 38-year-old Stan Wawrinka
“It’s the journey of a humble tennis player.” – The twittersphere on Chris Eubanks
“When there are shifts in Sabalenka’s favor, it happens like a tidal wave. She has so much power.” – Radio Wimbledon
“I started off in industrial engineering. Then I realized I wasn’t that smart and shifted to business.” – Chris Eubanks on his majors at Georgia Tech.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: Last year Russians and Belarusians were banned from Wimbledon. This year there are seven of them through the fourth round.
SON OF A PREACHER MAN: Georgia is famous for its Baptist preachers – think Martin Luther King, Jr. And Atlanta native Chris Eubank’s dad and grandfather were ministers. Chris told Inside Tennis that they instilled values: “It’s always been a kind of thing in my household.” He then noted, with a glimmer in his eye, “The funny thing about being a preacher’s kid is when you’re playing tournaments and winning on Saturdays, you miss a lot of Sundays.”
On a more serious note, he said, “One of the main things about having faith is taking it into every walk of life, which could also be my tennis. It’s just trusting that if I keep doing what I’m supposed to do, it’s going to work out… Just having that belief…gives me peace of mind.”
BICYCLING TO WIMBLEDON: The once notable player Jeff Borowiak would bicycle to his Wimbledon matches. But that was nothing compared to Danish broadcaster Rasmeth Larsen, who, in the spirit of sustainability, this year bicycled for 14 days from Copenhagen to London in order to cover Wimbledon.
STAN THE MAN GETS IT RIGHT: Before his match against Djokovic, underdog Stan Wawrinka insisted, “There’s zero opportunity for me to win…I don’t really stand a chance. So I’m going to be playing tomorrow and then watching the rest of the tournament.” He got it right. He lost in straight sets and now is watching.
TENNIS TICKETS AND THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING: Everyone knows that there’s a dual track system engrained in many of the details, little and large, at so many tennis tourneys, especially Wimbledon. When was the last time you got an invite to the Royal Box? And when did Novak Djokovic last play on a scruffy back court? Stars get great treatment.
Yesterday, France’s Alize Cornet contended, “The biggest issue at this tournament was the difference between today, when I played on Centre Court and basically had 40 tickets to give away. On my first round, I had two. That explains everything.”
DIALOGUE OF THE DAY: Radio Wimbledon broadcaster Rob Nothman was seeking some local color, so he ventured out to the ticket queue, where he met Elliot, a young boy who’d been camping out for three nights. The broadcaster said, “Young Elliot, come over here – I’m not going to bite. How old are you?”
Elliot whispered, “Seven.”
Rob told him, “Make it nice and loud, as loud as you can. Have you ever been to Wimbledon before?”
“No,” said Elliot.
“So what do you think it is going to be like?”
“Good,” replied Elliot.
The rather frustrated broadcaster then continued: “Now the whole point of an interview is when I ask you questions you give me answers that are more than one world long. Okay, do you know who you are going to be watching on Centre Court?”
Elliot replied, “I don’t think so.”
GIVE HER THE COMMISSION: Kim Clijsters was texting Chris Eubanks during his run to the Mallorca Championships. So Eubanks was asked whether the icon (who has a net worth of $20 million) was going to get a commission. Eubanks replied, “Hey, if she asks, she’s gonna get it. She’s a big, big contributing factor to, I think, some of the success, just keeping my mind fresh and keeping me up in spirits when I wasn’t.”
A TOUCH OF AMERICA: It feels just like home when you hear John McEnroe on BBC TV go off on a riff on Jersey rockers Bon Jovi and Bruce Springsteen.
ALCARAZ – A BIG TEST FOR A BIG STAR: They say it’s good to have a tight match early in a Slam – a little scar tissue does you a world of good. And today world No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, the second favorite to win Wimbledon, got a big test from a big man. The 6’ 7” Chilean, Nicholas Jarry, at times seemed like a giant who would not be moved. The power-meister unloaded his serves and forehands to gain the third set, but then Carlos raised his level and scored a critical break deep into the fourth set to capture a 6-3, 6-7(6), 6-3, 7-5 win. Carlos was pushed to the limit and John McEnroe noted, “It was absolutely everything you could ask for. Are you going to sit there and tell me that Alcaraz can’t play on grass?”
PAUL’S FALL: After downing Milos Raonic, Aussie Open semi-finalist Tommy Paul was bidding to reach the fourth round of Wimbledon for the second straight year, but he lost in five sets to the young Czech, Jiri Lehecka.
