Bill Simons
Where has this guy been? Chris Eubanks has come out of nowhere to take tennis by storm. Suddenly, he couldn’t stop winning.
The 27-year-old had been a fine Georgia Tech player, but not that fine of a pro. Last year his ranking was 163. A couple of weeks ago he was No. 77. Then he won a championship on a Spanish island, Mallorca, and then went on a magical tour at the All England Club.
Here he’s been relaxed and chill, and seemed to be on a perpetual charm offensive. He was the last American standing at Wimbledon and effortlessly captured English hearts. “He’s so very nice and elegant,” said one fan from Highbury Islington. “He’s superb. To be that size and so coordinated is impressive indeed. And that smile is charming, just charming!”
But today a Russian octopus, that would be the long-limbed, uber-flexible Daniil Medvedev, at first seemed destined to end the Atlantan’s Cinderella run.
Daniil won the first set 6-4. But Eubanks, with his explosive serve, wristy flash forehands and delicate drop shots, soon dominated and captured the next two sets.
But in the fourth set, Medvedev’s first serve was impenetrable – his defense was seamless. And in the fourth-set tiebreak, Eubanks shanked a backhand and botched a volley. He lost four points in a row. Cinderella’s sparkling carriage was now turning into a bit of a pumpkin.
The British fans, who’d taken on Christopher Eubanks as if he were Christopher Robin, now murmured, “Oh dear!” There was a certain sense of doom on Court One, as one of the most savvy and experienced players of our era, who’s played in four Slam finals, imposed his will.
Eubanks ran out of gas, haplessly falling 6-4, 1-6, 4-6, 7-6 (4), 6-1. Like Taylor Fritz in his quarterfinal last year, Eubanks was oh-so-close to reaching the Wimbledon semi – yet oh-so-far. In the fourth set Chris was within four points of reaching the semis.
Eubanks’s loss sadly insured that American men will have gone 20 years without winning a Slam – think Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open.
Still, his run will long be remembered for its blazing blasts – Chris hit a record 321 winners to break Andre Agassi’s mark. And, more than anything, it will long be cherished for the smiles it brought to so many. A man with charm and decency who emerged from deep within the tennis pack will not lift the trophy Sunday. But he will never be forgotten.
REVENGE IS SWEET FOR JABEUR: It’s said that Ons Jabeur brings so much joy to so many: Tunisians, Africans, Muslim women, – any tennis fan who loves variety – with her openness, a non-stop flow of inventive shots and an engaging smile.
Yes, Ons is as expressive and emotionally transparent as Elena Rybakina is distant, implacid and impenetrable. But as astounding as Ons’s slice is, of late, the No. 6 seed has been sliced up on big tennis stages.
Last year, Rybakina downed her in the Wimbledon final and Iga Swiatek whipped her in the US Open final. Not surprisingly, Jabeur was eager for revenge.
Instead, she soon felt sorrow. Despite breaking early in the first set, she dropped that set and seemed destined for defeat. But Jabeur then lifted her game. “Ons” all cylinders, she served big and ran her Kazakh foe to the corners.
She danced in delight as she scored her 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-1 come-from-behind win. Revenge was sweet.
The fun-loving veteran had started Wimbledon by claiming she’d steal all the Rybakina photos posted around Wimbledon. And with a twinkle in her eye, she told the press that she’d won the match because “I made sure I changed seats this time. I went for the other seat than the one I had last year, when she won…It’s the seat that made me win today!”
THE GREATEST PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT IN TENNIS HISTORY: A Wimbledon ump scolded the crowd, saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, please, if you are opening a bottle of champagne, don’t do it as the players are about to serve.” A BBC broadcaster then responded, “That’s the most Wimbledon warning I’ve ever heard.”
NARROW MARGINS: IN 2015, Djokovic was red hot and won 11 tournaments. But he only won 56% of his points.
ROYAL SIGHTING: The queen was at Wimbledon. That would be the new Queen Consort, Camila, who loves tennis. The late Queen Elizabeth did not.
PASSING GAS ON AN ESTEEMED BROADCASTING GIANT: After a questionable word was used on air, the august broadcasting network BBC broke into a debate on whether it was okay to use the word fart or not.
WAITING FOR WIMBLEDON: The Financial Times suggested, “The 100-year-old Wimbledon queue defines Britishness, for better or worse. Never have so many behaved so politely, braving torrential rain, sleep deprivation and a 10 PM curfew on takeaway deliveries.”
WIMBLEDON’S MAGICAL SPELL: Fifty-three years ago, a couple in India watched Wimbledon on their black and white television. They vowed one day to come and see the great championships. Their friends ridiculed them. But, sure enough, they came this year and were elated…Every year blind people come from great distances to enjoy the thrill of the place.
WHEN IN DOUBT LEAN INTO THE CLICHES: British newscaster Sian Welby confided, “I know Andy Murray and Nick Kyrgios, but I’m not sure of the other players. For me it’s going to be about Pimms, strawberries and cream, and all the cliches.”
MADISON FALLS: Madison Keys was a phenom who emerged at 14. One year she hit faster groundies at the French Open than any other man or woman. She famously reached the 2017 US Open, but came out flat and fell to Sloane Stephens.
Sadly, since then she hasn’t reached another Slam final. Still, she’s had a great career. The world No. 18 won the Eastbourne warm-up and sprinted to the Wimbledon quarters, where she quieted the Russian sensation Mirra Andreeva.
But today Aryna Sabalenka showed why many consider the powerful Belarusian a favorite to win the title. The world No. 2 collected the first set easily against Keys and then came back from being down 2-4 in the second set to blasting her way to a 6-2, 6-4 win that booked her place into her second Wimbledon semi in three years. She’ll face Ons Jabeur and a victory will allow her to pass Iga Swiatek to gain the
ONS JABEUR LIGHTNING ROUND: We did a quick lightning round with Ons Jabeur that went like this:
Favorite part of Tennis? Traveling.
Person in tennis you’d like to go to dinner with? Novak Djokovic.
Person outside of tennis you’d most like to go to dinner with? David Beckham.
Best stroke that you faced in your career? Bianca Andreescu’s slice. It was kind of annoying.
Your favorite court on the tennis circuit? I’ve got to choose Wimbledon’s Centre Court.
